Srinagar, Sep 26: The J&K government has informed the Legislative Assembly that only 10 of 375 government schools in Uri constituency have a pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) above 40.
The government further acknowledged that staffing requirements in schools with a higher pupil-teacher ratio are being examined through a rationalisation exercise.
The figures were disclosed in a government reply to a starred Assembly question raised by MLA Uri Sajjad Shafi over gaps in teaching staff and their impact on students in schools of Uri constituency.
The minister in charge of education, in her reply, said the government was relying on rationalisation of available teaching resources to address staffing requirements in understaffed schools.
“The applications from eligible teachers were already invited under the Annual Transfer Drive (ATD)-2026 and the schools having relatively higher PTR will be given due consideration while processing transfers,” the minister informed the House.
The government also cited recent changes as part of its response to the staffing issue.
“Twenty-two Laboratory Assistants have been promoted as teachers, of whom eight have been adjusted in Uri constituency,” the minister told the Assembly.
As per the government reply, five Masters have been transferred to Uri schools, taking the number of newly promoted or transferred teaching personnel cited in the response to 13.
The government said these additions were intended to supplement existing arrangements, particularly in schools where the pupil-teacher ratio was relatively high.
MLA Uri asked the government whether it had plans to engage local youth on consolidated remuneration, including computer and other skill-based teachers, to meet educational requirements in middle schools across Uri.
The government, in its reply, did not announce a separate local youth recruitment programme.
However, the government said additional staff would be provided to understaffed schools through rationalisation across the Union Territory, including Uri.
“The rationalization exercise for the current academic year has already been initiated,” the government said, adding that staffing requirements would be considered as part of the exercise with the stated aim of achieving a more balanced distribution of the teaching fraternity.
