Over 85,000 Teachers Post Are Vacant In UP, Says Education Minister

The 85,152 posts of headmasters and assistant teachers are vacant in the state, however student-teacher ratio is complete due to the presence of shiksha mitras and instructors, Uttar Pradesh Education Ministry informed.

Sandeep Singh, Minister of State for Basic Education while answering during the Question Hour of the budget session of the legislative assembly told the house about the details on the vacancies. The Samajwadi Party members Anil Pradhan and Abhay Singh asked these questions in the assembly. Informing about the presence of both shiksha mitra and instructor in the Basic Education Department, Singh said that the number of teachers, including part-time instructors, shiksha mitras and assistant teachers is currently 6,28,915 in the state.

He further added that the student-teacher ratio is balanced in the state education department and there is no problem in teaching.

Minister informed that in council primary schools the number of students enrolled are 1,05,06,379 and the student-teacher ratio is 31:1 i.e. one teacher for 31 students. He further claimed after including shiksha mitras in primary schools, the student-teacher ratio is 21:1, which is according to the norms.

Responding to a supplementary question, he informed that 1,26,371 new teachers have been appointed by the government since 2017. Out of the total sanctioned 4,17,886 posts,  85,152 posts of headmasters and assistant teachers are vacant in the primary school of Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Council, he informed.

Notably, with 97.1%, UP has recorded highest enrolment rate in schools in the past 15 years according the data revealed by the Annual status of Education Report (ASER) 2022. The children’s ability to read simple English sentences for grade V has improved from 18.6% in 2016 to 24.1% in 2022.