Ompal Singh, the headmaster of the school, who tries to take as much teaching responsibilities as possible, says, “I think if we could have atleast one teacher for every 30 students, then the situation would be perfect.” Absent teachers are a big problem in the Indian primary schools. On any day 1 in 4 teachers are away. Only some take leave for genuine reasons such as maternity or sick leave but many don't turn up because there are few inspections and punishments are rare. A bigger problem is the fact that some teachers pay bribe to keep getting paid.

At a teacher training institute students are seen studying and working hard for qualification but the principle of the same institute says that many in India sees teaching a well paid holiday. R K Rudbey, prinicple of the Baghpat Teacher Training College says, “They see teaching as a chance to do nothing. They just sit in a chair and don't care whether the children are playing, learning or doing nothing."

The missing teachers are not the only problem with the primary education in India. Experts say that outdated teaching methods, lack of skills are failing the Indian children. Urmila Sarkar, the chief of Education UNICEF India said, “If you don't invest in education in the early years then those children will not develop to their fullest potential and then you will have the viscous circle of deprivation.”

The situation has another side to it as parents are willing to pay for the private education of their children and private schools are flourishing in the country. They have teachers who turn up for the job and have better facilities. However, sending children to a private school is the luxury of people with money. Not every one in a country that is called developing has the means to send their children to private schools. As was reported by AFP, government of India promises free primary education for everyone but until and unless standards are raised only a handful will get the right kind of education while the rest would be sucked into the viscous circle of poverty.