Teacher posts vacant in Telangana Model Schools as 27% posts remain empty
Hyderabad: Teacher posts vacant in Telangana Model Schools have reached 1,080, accounting for 27% of the sanctioned teaching posts. The shortage has raised concerns about teaching quality and the functioning of the schools.
There are 194 Model Schools across Telangana, with English-medium education offered to students. However, the schools are facing a shortage of teachers as recruitment has not kept pace with rising vacancies.
The sanctioned strength stands at 3,880 posts, while only 2,800 teachers are currently working. The vacancies include 97 Principal posts, 560 PGT posts and more than 409 TGT posts.
Meanwhile, the shortage has affected classroom teaching across the schools. Teachers’ associations have demanded that the government issue notifications and fill the vacant posts without further delay.
Admissions have also emerged as another concern for the Model Schools. More than 51,000 seats remained vacant during the current academic year, while admissions fell by 15,000 compared with the previous year.
In 2017, Model Schools recorded 1.36 lakh admissions. Since then, admissions have reportedly declined every year, creating a growing surplus of seats across the institutions.
According to Bhootham Yakamallu, president of the Telangana Model School Teachers Association, Gurukuls have affected admissions in Model Schools. Residential facilities, a good menu and broader accommodation options have attracted students towards Gurukuls.
Gurukuls admit students from Class 5, while Model Schools generally take admissions from Class 6. As a result, students who do not enter Gurukuls are divided among Model Schools, Zilla Parishad schools and government schools.
Yakamallu said this admission pattern was also a major reason for the decline in Model School enrolment. He demanded immediate recruitment to address the teacher shortage.
The schools also offer Intermediate education, but the association has raised concerns over the courses available. MEC and CEC courses are being conducted, while students seeking MPC and BiPC options are choosing other colleges after Class 10.
Teacher posts vacant as Model Schools face repeated changes
The education department and government have proposed several changes for Model Schools. Earlier, officials announced plans to introduce Class 5 in these schools, but the proposal has not materialised.
Subsequently, officials proposed upgrading the institutions into Telangana Public Schools. A field study was also conducted as part of that proposal.
Later, the department indicated that the CBSE syllabus would be introduced in Model Schools. More recently, officials proposed developing 29 schools in each district as Centres of Excellence.
Teachers’ unions have opposed these repeated initiatives while existing vacancies remain unfilled. They have argued that addressing the teacher shortage should take priority over introducing new plans.
Lack of facilities has added to the challenges facing the schools. Of the 194 Model Schools, 180 have girls’ hostels, while 14 schools do not have hostel facilities.
However, accommodation is currently being provided at only 100 of the girls’ hostels. Students at the remaining schools face difficulties in commuting because residential facilities are unavailable.
The teacher shortage has also been linked to vacancies created over time. Some teachers appointed through the 2011-12 academic year recruitment are now reaching retirement.
In addition, the number of vacancies has increased following deaths caused by road accidents and health-related reasons. Recruitment has not kept pace with these losses, leaving the schools with a growing gap in teaching staff.
The continuing shortage has directly affected teaching arrangements in the Model Schools. The teachers’ association has therefore sought recruitment to restore adequate staffing across the institutions.