Haryana govt schools face teacher shortages, infra gaps: Cong

The Congress legislators Ashok Kumar Arora, Mandeep Chatta and Balwan Singh drew the attention of the House towards “pitiable condition of government schools due to severe shortage of teachers, dilapidated buildings, and a lack of basic infrastructure” via a calling attention notice.

Chandigarh The principal Opposition party, Congress, on Wednesday described as “pitiable” the condition of Haryana government schools amidst teacher shortages and infrastructure gaps even as education minister Mahipal Dhanda sought to reassure the assembly that “further enhancing” education standards remains a top priority of the chief minister Nayab Singh Saini-led government.

The education minister Mahipal Dhanda said that the department has invited promotion cases to fill 4,550 vacant posts of PGT promotion quota and that promotion process will also be completed shortly. (HT File)

The Congress legislators Ashok Kumar Arora, Mandeep Chatta and Balwan Singh drew the attention of the House towards “pitiable condition of government schools due to severe shortage of teachers, dilapidated buildings, and a lack of basic infrastructure” via a calling attention notice. They stated that “many schools lack essential facilities” like clean drinking water, proper sanitation, and functional classrooms.

“As a result, parents are reluctant to enroll their children in government institutions, leading to declining student numbers. The deteriorating state of public education is a matter of grave concern, as it impacts the future of our youth,” Congress MLA Arora said seeking immediate action to fill teacher vacancies.

The education minister Mahipal Dhanda said that the department has invited promotion cases to fill 4,550 vacant posts of PGT promotion quota and that promotion process will also be completed shortly.

“The vacant posts will be filled very soon...and necessary steps are being taken to ensure basic facilities in all the schools,” Dhanda said, adding that the government is improving the infrastructure of the schools.

“We will not let any shortcoming creep into the education system...I call upon all the members of the House to give suggestions they think imperative to further improve the quality of education in government schools.”

The education minister said that for the financial year 2024-25, the state government has allocated ₹19,856 crore for education. He said this included funding for new school construction, teacher recruitment, and improvement of existing facilities. However, opposition MLAs raised concerns over the slow pace of recruitment and delays in infrastructure projects.

Despite efforts to improve conditions, over 15,000 teaching positions remain vacant, and thousands of schools lack essential facilities such as functional classrooms, drinking water, and sanitation.

According to the official data presented in response to the calling attention notice in the assembly, the state has 14,295 government schools, including 2,009 senior secondary schools, 2,197 middle schools, and 7,257 primary schools.

These schools face a shortage of 15,659 teachers, including 8,519 postgraduate teachers (PGTs), 4,583 trained graduate teachers (TGTs), and 2,557 primary teachers (PRTs).

Over the past five years, the government has recruited 13,261 teachers with 7,766 new teachers recruited in 2024 and 1,704 in 2025.

To temporarily address the issue, 7,110 teachers have been hired on a contractual basis through Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN). The government has also initiated a recruitment drive for 4,780 PGTs, 3,427 TGTs, and 1,456 PRTs.

The education minister stated that as per a state-wide review conducted in May 2023 as many as 8,240 additional classrooms were needed to accommodate students, 5,630 other rooms, including libraries, staff rooms, and laboratories, were lacking, 321 schools needed boundary walls for security and 1,047 schools lacked toilets for boys, and 538 schools lacked toilets for girls.

In response, the government allocated ₹473.44 crore in 2023-24 for infrastructure improvements, with an additional ₹306.84 crore sanctioned this year. However, work on many projects is still in progress, with some improvements expected to be completed by March 2026.

The minister said that Haryana’s government schools have witnessed a remarkable improvement in board exam results. In 2015, the Class 10 pass percentage was 33.42%, which has surged to 93.22% in 2024. Similarly, the Class 12 pass percentage has improved from 52.60% to 84.28% in the same period.

Dhanda attributed this improvement to initiatives like “Super 100” programme launched in 2018-19 for academically bright students, “Buniyaad” programme to strengthen foundational learning, “Nipun Haryana Mission” to enhance primary education, mandatory 20-day training for teachers every year.

He said ₹44 crore were recently sanctioned for drinking water, construction of toilets and other facilities in schools. He said at present, basic facilities such as drinking water, separate toilets for boys and girls and electricity connection are available in all the government schools of the state.