9,828 Teachers appeared for 5,623 posts in 145 schools; the High Court allows process but withholds result declaration
Shimla: The screening test for recruitment of teachers in CBSE-affiliated government schools in Himachal Pradesh was conducted across the state, with 9,828 candidates appearing, while 1,466 remained absent out of 11,294 applicants.
The recruitment drive is being conducted by the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education to fill 5,623 teaching posts in 145 government schools where the CBSE curriculum is proposed to be introduced. For the examination, 26 centres were set up across the state to ensure smooth conduct of the process.
The posts include a wide range of categories, such as 1,796 JBT teachers, 1,278 TGT (Arts), 956 TGT (Non-Medical), 809 TGT (Medical), and 747 Shastri positions. Applications were also received for 539 Language Teachers and several lecturer posts, including English (519), Commerce (455), Maths (321), Physics (324), and Chemistry (300). Other posts include Principals (368), Drawing Masters (383), DPE (120), and Physical Education Teachers (236).
The selected candidates will be deployed in government schools where the CBSE pattern is being introduced under the state government’s plan to improve academic standards and bring select institutions at par with national-level education systems.
However, the recruitment process is under judicial scrutiny. The Himachal Pradesh High Court has allowed the state government to go ahead with the screening test but has restrained authorities from declaring the results without prior permission of the Court.
The matter came up before a division bench of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Ranjan Sharma, which has scheduled the next hearing for April 2. The Court has directed the petitioners to place additional facts on record by March 25, while the state government and other respondents have been asked to submit their replies by March 31.
The recruitment process has been challenged by the Himachal Pradesh Joint Teachers Front, which has opposed the introduction of a separate CBSE sub-cadre and the mandatory screening test for in-service teachers.
The controversy is linked to the state government’s ‘CBSE Excellence Scheme’, notified on January 19, under which 145 government schools are proposed to be upgraded to follow the CBSE curriculum. The government has maintained that the move is aimed at improving the quality of education and aligning it with broader national and global standards.
To ensure transparency in the examination process, the Board had deployed 26 observers across centres. The application window, initially open from February 11 to February 24, was later extended till March 13 after a low initial response from candidates.
