Union HRD Ministry makes effort to set benchmark for student-teacher ratio

In a greatly appreciable move, the Union Human Resources and Development (HRD) Ministry has called for suggestions from states to set a benchmark for student-teacher ratio.

The issue came up following national surveys conducted by NCERT which reveal the dismal state of education in India, particularly in secondary and higher secondary classes and call for a thorough revision of the existing quality of education. The matter was taken up for discussion in a recent meeting which was held to evaluate the progress report of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). Launched in March 2009, the RMSA is a scheme drafted with the objective of improving the quality and enhancing the access to secondary education by making all secondary schools conform to prescribed norms, removing gender bias and socio-economic disability barriers, strengthening school infrastructure, improving student-teacher ratio and providing incentives like free textbooks. The aim of the scheme was to achieve universal access to secondary education by 2017.

This move is expected to have a positive impact on the quality of school education. A low student-teacher ratio ensures that students get greater attention from teachers which directly contributes to improved performance.