As per government data available in the public domain there are 216 schools in Goa which have a single teacher looking after classes, co-ordination and administrative duties too, besides there are 245 government primary schools with less than 15 students enrolled. In the state @32% of government schools have an adverse pupil- teacher ratio. Single teacher schools still exist due to less than prudent deployment of human resources. In fact Goa was found to have 375 surplus teachers at elementary level, the state needs to go in for a reset and rationalization to ensure availability of the required number of teachers in all schools. As per Goa's education statutes a second teacher can be deployed in a school only if it has enrolment of more than 24 students, also a preference for deployment by teachers in urban areas and a weak staff transfer policy complicates matters. A way out of this could be amalgamation of two or more low enrolment schools and its teachers and staff. This would ensure optimal utilization of physical infrastructure and human resources.
