BMC schools struggle to fill teacher vacancies

The Pavitra Portal, through which teachers are recruited for all government and aided schools across the state, lists 1,345 vacancies for teachers in BMC-run schools. But the total number of eligible candidates named in three published lists is just 1,100

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has failed to find enough candidates to fill vacancies for teachers in its schools despite the conclusion of three rounds of the recruitment process. The civic body is struggling to find candidates who are proficient in vernacular languages as well as English as most BMC schools have opted for a combination of English and a vernacular language as the medium of instruction, said educationists.

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The Pavitra Portal, through which teachers are recruited for all government and aided schools across the state, lists 1,345 vacancies for teachers in BMC-run schools. But the total number of eligible candidates named in three published lists is just 1,100. Among these, only 400 candidates have received appointment letters following counselling and document verification.

The shortage of teachers is most acute for Urdu medium schools, where the BMC has received 109 applications against 280 vacancies.

“Most BMC schools have become semi-English medium. So we need teachers who are experts in English as well as the regional language which is used as the main medium of instruction in the school,” said the principal of a BMC-run Urdu school. His school requires a Mathematics teacher who is fluent in Urdu as well as English. “Such combinations are difficult to find,” he said.

Given these circumstances, the civic body is continuing to receive applications for vacant posts through the Pavitra portal even after the relaxation of reservation policies for each round, said BMC officials.

“We will keep sourcing candidates through the portal until all positions are filled. Some glitches that have appeared in the appointment process which will also be rectified soon,” said an official from BMC’s education department.

But Sajid Nisar Ahmed, founder of the Akhil Bhartiya Urdu Shikshak Sangh (ABUSS), said the shortage of teachers was hampering the education of hundreds of students and the BMC needs to expedite the counselling and document verification processes for the 700 eligible candidates who are yet to receive appointment letters.

“Of the 798 candidates recommended to the BMC through the Pavitra portal up to the second round, document verification has been completed for only 373 candidates. We urge that all verification procedures be finished forthwith, and the remaining candidates be appointed and sent to their respective schools,” said Ahmed.

Approximately 15,000 candidates who applied in non-BMC schools across Maharashtra through the Pavitra portal have already received their appointment letters, which has heightened the anxiety among teacher aspirants in BMC schools.

“Candidates appointed by BMC’s education department have not been counseled yet. We don’t know when the process will conclude and we will get a job,” said a candidate who applied for the position of mathematics teacher.