The city’s 15 Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV), schools run by the central government, are facing an acute shortage of teachers.
The Mumbai Division, which includes the city, Thane, Yavatmal, Pune and Nashik, has 48 Kendriya Vidyalayas which are facing a shortage of 339 teachers.
At the KV in the Powai campus of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B), parents of eight students have volunteered to teach math and science to Class 11 and Class 12 students. They have been teaching in the school since August to make up for the shortage of six teachers.
“We are expecting to fill up the vacancies by December 15 and things should get better. The school has also roped in part time contract teachers to fill the shortage,” said school principal George Cherian,” he added.
The school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) has been worried about the shortage of teachers and suggested parents chip in. “Our children study there and the quality of KVs has dropped drastically. We have been teaching there to save the school,” said K Narayanan, vice chairman of the PTA whose children study in Class 5 and Class 11.
At the KV in Mankhurd, the school has an in-charge principal as the full-time principal was recently transferred to Assam. The school has a shortage of four teachers for Class 11 and Class 12, and one teacher for Class 8 and two clerical staff. “Nobody wants to take up teaching as a profession,” said K Prabhavati, the in charge principal of the school.
Academicians said that the shortage was due to few candidates clearing the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET), the eligibility criterion for appointing teachers. The test was introduced in June. Only 14 % of the candidates who took the test across India cleared it. KVs can only employ those who have cleared the test.
{{/usCountry}}Academicians said that the shortage was due to few candidates clearing the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET), the eligibility criterion for appointing teachers. The test was introduced in June. Only 14 % of the candidates who took the test across India cleared it. KVs can only employ those who have cleared the test.
{{/usCountry}}“All KV schools in the Mumbai division are facing a shortage of teachers. Teachers are recruited by the Delhi headquarters. We have received notifications from Delhi and hope to employ more teachers soon,” said PRL Gupta, assistant commissioner of Mumbai division. “Part-time teachers employed in the schools might not be up to the mark and if parents are teaching in schools, there is nothing wrong in it,” he added.
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