India’s MISSING teachers: Amid Rajasthan protests, a look at staff shortage in Indian schools

India at present faces a shortage of a whopping 11,09,486 teachers and principals across elementary, secondary, and senior secondary levels as a result several districts of Rajasthan witnessed sporadic protests by students and guardian.

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On Thursday, several districts of Rajasthan witnessed sporadic protests by students and guardians. News of agitators locking school gates and gheraoing officials poured in from Barmer, Jalore, Karauli, and other places, as the administration faced a tough time pacifying angry crowds. But though the protests were unrelated, the cause was common – rampant transfer of teachers and the government’s inability to fill vacancies.

The issue of vacant teaching positions has been plaguing our education sector since Independence and is more pronounced in the rural areas of India’s bigger and financially backward states. Though subsequent governments have tried to stem the problem, India at present faces a shortage of a whopping 11,09,486 teachers and principals across elementary, secondary, and senior secondary levels.

These include 837,592 vacancies for elementary teachers and head teachers, 131,655 for secondary level teachers, 99,401 for senior secondary teachers, 28,645 for secondary level headmasters, and 12,193 for senior secondary headmasters. 

Vacancies at elementary level 

Elementary school teaching is considered the most significant aspect of a child’s growth. This is the reason why the number of elementary schools is the highest in any country. This is also the reason why vacancies in this segment are highest in India.  The bigger and economically weaker states of Bihar (223,488), Uttar Pradesh (194,998), Jharkhand (75,527), Madhya Pradesh (74,355) and West Bengal (59,295) have the highest teaching vacancies at elementary levels, according to Lok Sabha data.

These five states together account for 75 percent of the total elementary vacancies in India. On the contrary, Maharashtra, Odisha, and the smaller northeastern states of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland have reported zero vacancies at the same level. 

Vacancies at the secondary level 

When it comes to teaching vacancies at the secondary level, it’s the usual suspects leading here as well. The five states of Bihar (19,413), UP (14,426), Jharkhand (13,616), Andhra Pradesh (12,279), and Madhya Pradesh (10,872) together account for over half of secondary-level teaching vacancies in India. On the contrary, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Sikkim have reported zero vacancies in this category. Rajasthan, where protests broke out on October 13, has the sixth-highest vacancy at the secondary level (9,982) and the seventh-highest vacancy at an elementary level (29,179). 

Pupil-teacher ratio 

India’s overall pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) is a favourable 27 at primary and higher secondary levels, and 19 at upper primary and secondary levels. At the primary level, Bihar has the worst PTR at 56 – more than double the national average – while Sikkim recorded the best PTR at 7. On the other end of the spectrum, states with the worst PTR at the higher secondary level are Odisha (68), Bihar (60), Jharkhand (56), UP (42) and Andhra Pradesh (40). The best-performing states and UTs in this category are Andaman & Nicobar Islands (9), and Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, and Lakshadweep (10 each).