Vacancies in Schools

The Ministry of Education notes that teacher vacancies in government schools arise from retirements, resignations, new posts and changes in enrolment. Data from UDISE+ 2025‑26 (Annexure‑I) shows a total of 1,754,291 teachers in primary, upper‑primary, secondary and higher‑secondary levels across India, while Annexure‑II records 100,843 single‑teacher schools. The central government advises states to fill vacancies through merit‑based, transparent recruitment and provides financial assistance under Samagra Shiksha to maintain the prescribed pupil‑teacher ratio (PTR). According to the UDISE+ report, the national PTR is 19 (primary), 17 (upper‑primary), 15 (secondary) and 23 (higher‑secondary), within the NEP‑2020 norms. The Ministry is also implementing the NISHTHA programme for integrated teacher training via the DIKSHA platform.