Vacancies in Schools

Education being a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, the majority of  schools in the country are under the administrative control of the respective State Governments  and Union Territory Administrations. Accordingly, the recruitment, service conditions and  deployment of teachers fall within the administrative domain of the concerned States/UTs. Teacher vacancies arise from time to time due to factors such as retirement, resignation, creation of new posts, rationalisation of teacher deployment and changes in enrolment, including in rural, tribal and aspirational districts. The data relating to sanctioned strength, working strength and vacancies of teachers in Government schools at the primary, upper primary, secondary and senior secondary levels, State-wise, is maintained by the respective State Governments and Union Territory Administrations.

As per the UDISE+ 2025-26, the State/UT-wise details of teachers in position in Government  schools across the country, are placed at Annexure-I. 

Further, as per the UDISE+ 2025-26, the State/UT-wise details of single-teacher schools in the  country, are placed at Annexure-II. 

The Central Government periodically advises States/UTs to fill vacant posts through transparent and merit-based recruitment processes, including through autonomous teacher recruitment boards or similar mechanisms. The progress of recruitment is regularly reviewed through meetings and advisories, with emphasis on competitive selection, consistency and  technology-based teacher requirement planning and forecasting.

Further, the Central Government provides financial assistance to States/UTs under Samagra  Shiksha to maintain appropriate Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) at various levels of schooling in  accordance with the norms prescribed under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory  Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

Para 2.3 of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 emphasises maintaining a PTR of under  30:1 in each school and under 25:1 in areas with a high proportion of socio-economically  disadvantaged students. As per UDISE+ 2025-26 report, the PTR at the national level stands  at 19 at Primary level, 17 at Upper Primary level, 15 at Secondary level, and 23 at the Higher  Secondary level which is within the norms envisaged under NEP 2020.

Moreover, the Ministry of Education is implementing a National Mission to improve learning  outcomes at the School Education level through an integrated teacher training programme  called ‘National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement’  (NISHTHA). NISHTHA courses have been designed and are run for Elementary, Secondary,  Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)  and Educational Technology and are offered online by NCERT on the DIKSHA platform using high-quality professionally made e-content.

This information was given by Minister of State for Education, Shri Jayant Chaudhary, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

ANNEXURE-I

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) TO (D) OF RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1165 ANSWERED ON 29/07/2026 ASKED BY HON’BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT SHRI RANDEEP SINGH SURJEWALA REGARDING “VACANCIES IN SCHOOLS”.

In-position Teachers in Government Schools (2025-26)

(Source: UDISE+ 2025-26)

ANNEXURE-II

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) TO (D) OF RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1165 ANSWERED ON 29/07/2026 ASKED BY HON’BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT SHRI RANDEEP SINGH SURJEWALA REGARDING “VACANCIES IN SCHOOLS”.

Single Teacher Schools for all Management for 2025-26

(Source: UDISE+ 2025-26)