10 lakh school teacher posts vacant, Standing Committee finds

The Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports examined the functioning of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) and teacher training initiatives to address gaps in teacher capacity building as mandated by the National Education Policy 2020.

Who it concerns: This concerns the Ministry of Education (specifically NCTE and District Institutes of Education and Training) and affects school teachers, teacher trainees, and students in rural areas.

What the committee found

• The Committee flagged that 47% of NCTE's 123 sanctioned posts are vacant and recommended filling them through permanent recruitment by March 2026.
• The Committee recommended integrating teacher training from pre-school to grade five to ensure continuity and preparing teachers for multi-grade classrooms.
• The Committee recommended eliminating exit options in the first, second, and third years of the Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) to prevent underqualified candidates.
• The Committee recommended implementing ITEP with government funding to make it affordable for students from rural backgrounds.
• The Committee recommended establishing at least one functional District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) in every district, noting that only 613 out of 780 districts currently have them.
• The Committee recommended that every district must have at least one public teacher education institution offering ITEP, as 92% of such institutions are currently private.
• The Committee recommended that NCTE collaborate with the University Grants Commission (UGC) to standardise semester duration, noting a conflict between NCTE's 125 working days and UGC's 14-15 weeks.

Also in the document

• There are approximately 10 lakh vacant posts for school teachers in the country.
• Only 613 out of 780 districts in the country have functional DIETs.
• 92% of teacher education institutions in the country are private.