It is learnt that there are over 200 schools in Goa which have just one teacher handling students in multiple classes. This aspect has reportedly been highlighted in the proceedings in the Goa Legislative Assembly in the past. What is shocking is that this very sorry state of affairs in Goa’s elementary education sector has come to the notice of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which has reported that 16 per cent of Goa’s schools have just one teacher. A UNESCO report said that of Goa’s 1,486 schools as many as 239 are single-teacher schools. In this respect Goa is second only to Arunachal Pradesh which has 18 per cent of single-teacher schools. UNESCO has also reported that Goa’s teaching community is dominated by women. According to the 2011 literary rate census Goa has a literacy rate of 87.40 percent. Kerala tops the list with 96.2 percent literacy rate. Primary education provides learning and educational activities typically designed to provide students with fundamental skills in reading, writing and mathematics. One way to have more than one teacher in schools in Goa is to increase the honorarium paid to voluntary teachers.
