Shortage of teachers: Over 10,000 vacancies remain

Bengaluru: Despite the government’s decision to enlist guest teachers for the second time to address the shortage of permanent teaching staff, the deficit in the teacher count is expected to persist.

As per available data, the ongoing academic year faces an undersupply of approximately 8,355 assistant teachers, and this scarcity is projected to rise to around ten thousand, encompassing vacancies for head teachers.

The conclusion of this year’s staff transfers has revealed another substantial insufficiency of teachers.

In response, a second directive has authorized the recruitment of 8,000 primary and 2,000 high school teachers. This move has contributed to the appointment of 45,000 teachers across the two orders. However, a shortage of 10,000 teachers still remains.

Notably, districts such as Raichur (689), Chikkodi (682), Belgaum (612), Vijayapur (539), Koppal (537), and Yadagiri (477) continue to experience a notable scarcity of guest teachers.

Interestingly, the new Vijayanagara district has witnessed an over-appointment of additional teachers in some locations. Although 1,158 positions for assistant teachers remain vacant, the initial guest teacher allocation placed 1,535 educators. Consequently, an excess of 377 guest teachers have been assigned to this district. Similarly, other areas like Brahmavar in Udupi (30), Yallapur in Uttara Kannada (2), Mudigere (70), Koppa (46), and numerous taluks including N.R. Pura (30), Sagar (22), Tirthahalli (21), and Kunigal (16) in Tumkur have observed an augmented influx of guest teachers.

“We have strategically allocated guest teachers, and currently, our shortage of co-teachers is merely at 4%. This isn’t a major concern, and with the resolution of the 13,551 teacher dispute, our staffing numbers will further improve,” assured B.B. Kaveri, Commissioner of the Department of School Education and Literacy.