Mangaluru: A severe shortage of teachers threatens to derail Dakshina Kannada (DK) district's ambitious plan to introduce bilingual education in Kannada and English across all primary schools starting this academic year. The district is among 15 selected by the state government for the rollout of the bilingual education model. However, education department officials have expressed concerns that the transition will require significantly more teachers compared to the earlier Nali-Kali system.
Increased Staffing Requirements
Under the Nali-Kali system, up to three teachers were sufficient for classes 1 to 5, depending on student strength. With the new bilingual system, each class is expected to have a dedicated teacher, which sharply increases staffing requirements. Officials in the Belthangady block have indicated that the shortage is likely to be severe. Last academic year, approximately 194 guest teachers were allotted for primary schools in the block, but the requirement this year is expected to rise to between 300 and 350 teachers.
“Since the requirement is high, we need to see how the government allocates guest teachers. Every block has a sanctioned strength, and we cannot exceed it without government approval. While bilingual education has long-term benefits, the transition itself comes with several challenges,” a block-level official said.
Qualified Candidates Hard to Find
A block education officer noted that the challenge is not limited to sanctioning additional posts but also finding qualified candidates to fill them. According to the official, each block may require nearly 300 teachers this year, compared to about 150 guest faculty members engaged last year. “There is already difficulty in finding guest teachers. Those recruited will also require training before they are deployed,” the official said.
District-Wide Requirement and Training
Dakshina Kannada DIET principal Sadananda Poonja stated that a total of 1,541 teachers are required across the district to effectively implement bilingual education. He confirmed that teacher training programs have already been conducted, with a focus on communication skills. “In the coming days, block resource persons and cluster resource persons will also be trained to strengthen exposure to bilingual teaching methods,” he said.
Meanwhile, the education department is still compiling the total district-wide requirement of guest teachers. DK DDPI Shashidhar GS said the final figure would soon be submitted to the government for approval.
The transition to bilingual education is seen as a significant step toward improving learning outcomes, but the immediate challenge of teacher shortages must be addressed to ensure its success.
