A cabinet sub-committee was formed to address the issue of 70,000 vacant posts in the state. Policy to be made for recruitment of teachers in difficult areas to ensure uninterrupted education
Shimla: Himachal Pradesh is facing an alarming issue of over 70,000 vacant posts across various departments. To address this issue, a cabinet sub-committee meeting was held at the state secretariat on Monday. The committee, chaired by Industry Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan and attended by ministers Jagat Singh Negi and Rohit Thakur, focused on brainstorming to create employment opportunities.
At the meeting, Industry Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan revealed that out of the sanctioned 3,00,000 posts, 70,000 are vacant. The education department will be the first to fill 20,000 vacant posts, especially in remote and inaccessible areas, in the first phase. The committee is scheduled to meet again on Tuesday with the Education and Law Secretaries in attendance.
However, the cabinet sub-committee expressed concern about the slow recruitment process in the State Public Service Commission, which has only recruited 2375 posts from 2018 to January 2023, leaving 1097 posts pending. The commission can recruit only 450 to 500 posts in a year, including the time taken for releasing the advertisement, conducting written tests, and conducting interviews. In contrast, Hamirpur Staff Selection Commission recruited 15,706 posts in the past five years, averaging 3,000 posts in a year.
To speed up the recruitment process, the cabinet sub-committee plans to make policies for the recruitment of teachers in the difficult areas of Chamba, Kangra, Mandi, Kullu, Lahaul, Bharmour, and Sirmaur, where many teaching positions remain vacant. The education department has approved 1,12,000 posts, of which 20,000 posts are vacant. The policy will be presented to the cabinet to ensure that children’s education is not affected.
