Over 15k teaching posts vacant in Haryana govt schools: minister

The minister further said 13,261 teachers were recruited during the past over five years.

Tabling calling attention motions, Congress legislators Ashok Arora, Balwan Singh Daulatpuria and Mandeep Chatha said government schools in Haryana are in “a pitiable condition due to a severe shortage of teachers, dilapidated buildings and the lack of basic infrastructure”.

Arora said, “Many schools lack essential facilities like clean drinking water, proper sanitation, and functional classrooms. As a result, parents are reluctant to enrol their children in government institutions, leading to declining student numbers. The deteriorating state of the public education system is a matter of grave concern, as it impacts the future of our children.”

Arora stressed the need for immediate action to fill teachers’ vacancies, revive infrastructure, and allocate sufficient funds for improving the quality of education.

Responding to Congress legislatures, Dhanda said, “The state government has been making conscientious efforts to meet the shortage of teachers in government schools. A demand letter to fill a total of 4,780 posts of Post Graduate Teachers (PGT) in various subjects was sent to the Haryana Public Service Commission in July 2024. Following the recommendations from the Commission, the process of issuing appointment letters for 1,704 posts has been initiated and will be completed before the start of the next academic session.”

The minister said that the department had also invited promotion cases to fill 4,550 vacant posts of PGT promotion quota in various subjects. “This promotion process will also be completed very soon. A demand letter has been sent to the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam for filling 3,427 posts of PGTs and TGTs (Trained Graduate Teachers).” The minister said a budgetary allocation of Rs 19,855.92 crore was made for the Education Department in the current financial year.

Divulging details of the government expenditure on school infrastructure, Dhanda said, “Rs 473.44 crore was released for the infrastructure. So far, in the current financial year, Rs 306.84 crore has been sanctioned. The remaining amount will be made available soon. Rs 43.48 crore was sanctioned for drinking water, construction of toilets and other facilities in schools.”
The minister, however, said basic facilities such as drinking water, separate toilets for boys and girls and electricity connection were available in all government schools in the state.

“During the past 10 years,” the minister said, “many initiatives have been taken by the School Education Department to increase access to quality education and improve the education outcome of government schools. To provide quality education, 1,420 Government Model Sanskriti Primary Schools, 193 Government Model Sanskriti Senior Secondary Schools and 250 PM Shri Schools have been established. All these schools are affiliated to the CBSE, and education is being imparted in English medium in these schools.”

Dhanda said, “In 2015, the board exam result of Class X was 33.42 per cent and Class XII was 52.60 per cent, which has increased to 93.22 per cent and 84.28 per cent, respectively, in 2024.”