In Ballari district, the education department is set to issue show-cause notices to teachers from 60 government high schools that recorded less than 40% pass percentage in the SSLC exams. Head teachers are also under the lens, with potential transfers being considered at schools that reported particularly low results of 16%, 20%, and 25%.
Despite the introduction of initiatives like ‘Kalika Aasare’, bund pairing, and phone-in programmes, Ballari’s position slipped to 29th in the state rankings, raising concern among officials. A subject-wise analysis revealed that student performance was especially poor in mathematics (68.8% pass) and science (66.3%), while better outcomes were observed in language and social science subjects.
Teachers in the district have blamed the declining performance on a severe shortage of staff. Out of 1,014 sanctioned teaching posts in 125 government high schools, only 619 are currently filled, leaving 395 vacancies. Although guest teachers were appointed in 434 of these positions, the lack of qualified mathematics and science educators remains a serious concern. Region-wise, Siruguppa has 157 vacancies out of 269 posts, Ballari West has 88 out of 276, Ballari East has 58 out of 288, and Sandur has 92 out of 181.
One headmaster, speaking anonymously, emphasized that the teacher shortage has significantly impacted student performance and called for the department to acknowledge this factor.
DDPI Umadevi B stated that special holiday classes were initiated for students who failed, and a comprehensive action plan is being developed. Teachers have been instructed to conduct focused sessions based on a performance gap analysis, with accountability measures to be strictly implemented.