Ludhiana: School heads flag staff shortage, DEO says vacancies to be filled
Charanjeet Kaur Ahuja, principal of Government Senior Secondary School on Cemetery Road, Ludhiana, highlighted the difficulties her school is facing due to the teacher shortage
The shortage of master cadre teachers in government schools has put school heads in a difficult situation as the new academic session is set to begin in less than two months.
Currently, around 4,150 master cadre teachers are working across 190 middle schools, 161 high schools and 183 senior secondary schools in the district. This number remains insufficient to meet the growing academic demands, say school heads. Principals are finding it increasingly challenging to maintain quality education due to the unavailability of teachers in key subjects.
Charanjeet Kaur Ahuja, principal of Government Senior Secondary School on Cemetery Road, highlighted the difficulties her school is facing due to the teacher shortage. “We have been allotted four posts for Punjabi, but two remain vacant. Similarly, two out of four Hindi posts are vacant, one post of science is unfilled and two mathematics posts remain empty. Additionally, three DPI posts are also vacant,” she said. The school has nearly 900 students in classes 6 to 8, 382 in primary classes, 500 in classes 9 and 10 and 300 in classes 11 and 12.
Ahuja further mentioned that several posts of elementary teacher training (ETT) teachers are also unfilled. As a result, master cadre teachers are forced to take on additional responsibilities, including managing primary classes along with their regular workload.
School heads explained that the number of master cadre teachers allotted to a school is based on student strength. Schools with fewer than 100 students receive four teachers, while those with 200 or more students are allotted eight, with the number increasing as student enrollment rises. Despite this system, many schools continue to operate with a severe shortage of faculty.
Pardeep Kumar Sharma, principal of Government Senior Secondary School at PAU, which has 4,468 students, said his school is also facing a shortfall. “Six posts are vacant. I have had to make adjustments. The recent transfers and promotions have led to these vacancies,” he explained.
Daljit Singh Samrala, district president of the Democratic Teachers Front (DTF), said, “This situation is affecting both academic instruction and the overall management of schools. The additional workload on the existing teachers is reducing their efficiency, which, in turn, is impacting students’ education.”
When questioned about the shortage, district education officer (secondary) Dimple Madan assured that steps are being taken to address the issue. “Promotions are happening in a phased manner and the process is underway. Hopefully, the vacant posts will be filled soon,” she said.