Functional computers in only 20% of govt schools

Special Correspondent

Panaji

A report released by the Department of School Education and Literacy under the Ministry of Education states that only 20% of the government schools in Goa have functional computer facility for pedagogical purpose, as also 9% schools in Goa have Child With Special Needs (CWSN)-friendly toilets.

Furthermore, the dropout rate at secondary level is 7.8% with 10% boys and 5.4% girls dropping out from school at this level.

The Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2023-24, which is a data aggregation platform, states in the report that of the 789 government schools in Goa, only 158 that is 20% have functional computer facility for pedagogical purpose.

“Of the total 1,487 schools in Goa, 816 that is 54.9% have such facilities including 20% government schools, 94.6% government-aided schools and 92.9% private aided schools, with total 671 schools in Goa not having any such facility,” it adds.

Incidentally, 100% schools in Chandigarh, 99.9% schools in Delhi, 99.3% schools in Puducherry and 99.1% schools in Kerala have functional computer facility for pedagogical purpose.

Furthermore, the percentage of government schools in Goa with middle and secondary sections having functional ICT labs stands at 37.3%, while 39.9% government-aided schools have such facilities.

Presently, Goa has 1,487 schools – 862 foundational and preparatory level, 77 middle and 548 secondary level schools – with an enrolment of 3,04,735 students, who are taught by 14,594 teachers, with the pupil-teacher ratio of  21.

The report points out that 25.2% schools in Goa have smart classrooms, 12.8 of them having projectors. A total of 36.4% schools use mobile phones for teaching learning process, while 87.6% schools have internet facility.

There are four schools in the state with zero that is no-enrolment and in all, 16 teachers are there in these four schools. Altogether 238 schools are with single teacher and have a total enrolment of 3,142.

The average teachers per school are 10, while average enrolments per school are 205.

In all, 42.9% schools have 50 or less students, and 11.3% schools have more than 500 students. A total of 51 schools in Goa have solar panels and 60 of them have functional rain harvesting systems.

As per the report, all schools in Goa have library and functional electricity as well as drinking water facility. Altogether 1,353 schools have playgrounds, 32 have digital library, 1,477 have functional girls’ toilets and 1,476 have functional boys’ toilets.

Out of 1,487 schools in Goa, a mere 9% that is 131 schools have CWSN-friendly toilets. In all 63% schools have ramps and 57% are equipped with ramps and hand rails. Altogether 4,341 Children With Special Needs are enrolled in schools in the state comprising 2,791 boys and 1,550 girls.