Haryana government schools grapple with teachers’ shortage; over 20k posts lying vacant

Government schools in Haryana are facing critical shortage of teaching and non-teaching staff, with more than 20,000 sanctioned positions lying vacant.

The issue was highlighted in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, where the state government admitted to the alarming gaps in staffing across the education sector in response to unstarred question of Congress MLA Pooja.

According to the latest data, Haryana has a total of 14,295 government schools, including senior secondary, middle and primary institutions, along with specialised setups such as Aarohi schools and Kasturba Gandhi Balika schools. However, these institutions are struggling to function effectively due to a significant shortfall in teachers and administrative staff.

The shortage is particularly severe among teaching staff. Of the 37,738 sanctioned posts for Post Graduate Teachers (PGT), only 29,219 have been filled, leaving 8,519 vacancies.

Trained Graduate Teachers (TGT) face a shortfall of 4,583, with 35,245 of the 39,828 posts occupied. The situation is similar for Primary Teachers (PRT), where 2,557 vacancies remain out of 37,759 sanctioned posts. School leadership positions are also affected, with only 157 headmasters in place against the sanctioned 916, and 574 out of 2,576 principal posts lying vacant.

Non-teaching staff vacancies further compound the problem. Clerical positions have 686 openings, while Class IV employees face a shortfall of 3,254, adding to the administrative burden on schools already struggling with inadequate teaching strength.

Acknowledging the situation, school education minister Mahipal Dhanda outlined several measures to address the shortages. He said that all vacant principal and headmaster posts would be filled through promotions in the upcoming academic session. To tackle the shortfall in PGT positions, the government had sent a requisition for 4,780 posts to the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) in July 2024, and while recommendations for 1,672 appointments have been received, the recruitment process remains underway.

Additionally, 3,371 TGTs are being considered for promotion to PGT posts, while 3,427 new TGT positions are to be filled through the Haryana Kaushal Rojgar Nigam. In Mewat, where primary teacher shortages are particularly acute, a request to fill 1,456 vacancies was submitted to the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) in August last year.

“All the posts of clerk pertaining to direct recruitment have been filled. There are 509 vacancies for promotion from Class IV to the post of clerk, the promotion cases have been invited for filling these vacancies. The remaining 177 posts have been reserved for the dependents of deceased employees under the ex-gratia grant policy,” the minister said in the written reply.