More Schools, Less Students; Teachers Worried About Their Jobs

Kurnool: With schools reopening soon, teachers in corporate and private institutions in Andhra Pradesh are facing increasing pressure as many managements link job security to the number of students admitted.

There are over 17,700 recognized private schools across the state.

Teachers were told that their employment would continue only if new recruitments were made. “No admission, no job.” “We are left with no other option,” said a private school teacher from Kurnool.

Hundreds of teachers are canvassing villages and trying to get children to accept, especially in Rayalaseema districts like Kadapa, Nandyal and Kurnool. This is in harsh summer conditions.

“We are going door to door requesting parents to enroll their children in our school,” said D. Swapna, a teacher at a corporate school in Kadapa. “So far I have not been able to get even a single person to enter. I have gone to five villages but there is no response,” he lamented.

Teachers travel in groups and often rent cars to reach remote villages. “Even villages without bus routes are being closed. We are spending money from our pocket just to achieve the targets,” said another teacher from Nandyal.

School managements have set targets specifically for admission to Grade 1 and offer incentives only if these targets are met. “They promise incentives if we bring students. Otherwise, they tell us to ‘look for another job’,” said M. Subhadra, a private school teacher from Nandyal.

Teachers say this trend is not limited to Rayalaseema. “The same situation exists in Guntur, Krishna and even northern coastal districts.” Teachers everywhere are being turned into ‘marketing representatives’.

The problem is that families are having fewer children, unlike in the past when family sizes were larger. The mushrooming of schools also led to this situation. Improving facilities in public schools also causes problems in private schools.