Shimla — In a significant move aimed at addressing teacher shortages in rural areas, Education Minister Rohit Thakur announced that newly appointed teachers will not be posted in schools near urban centers. Instead, the focus will be on deploying teachers to single-teacher schools in more remote regions.
Thakur revealed that 1,028 Trained Graduate Teachers (TGT) and 1,132 Junior Basic Teachers (JBT) are set to receive their initial postings in schools that currently rely heavily on temporary or deputation-based staff. Currently, 400 schools in the state operate under such temporary arrangements, underscoring the urgent need for a systemic overhaul.
Speaking to the media at the state secretariat, Thakur emphasized the prompt appointment of teachers on a batch-wise basis. This step follows a recruitment freeze necessitated by the election code of conduct. “All selected teachers have been informed of their initial postings,” he stated, adding that rationalization of teachers has already started, Jubbal Kotkhai.
Rationalization efforts involve reassigning teachers from schools with fewer students to those with a greater need, and in some instances, merging schools. Thakur highlighted the critical situation in many schools, where single teachers manage all classes, or worse, where no teachers are available at all.
“The previous government opened and upgraded schools without appointing necessary teaching staff,” Thakur remarked, highlighting the inherited challenge. “We are now working to fill six thousand vacant teaching posts.”
He informed that there are about 3,000 schools in the state with only one teacher. Under the previous BJP administration, 600 schools had no teachers, and around 4,000 schools depended on just one educator. Recruitment delays were exacerbated by pending court cases related to teacher appointments, which the current administration is actively resolving through rationalization and cancellation of deputations.
