In these crucial years, a shortage of postgraduate teachers (PGTs), who mainly teach senior secondary classes, can disrupt the subject-specific support students need for school examinations and preparation for further education, according to educators. New Delhi: For students in classes XI and XII, a vacant teaching post can mean uncertainty over who will explain the next chapter, resolve doubts or guide revision before board examinations.
The concern over the lack of PGT teachers was also highlighted in August at GSKV Khajuri Khas, where students alleged that they had gone without a regular chemistry teacher for up to three academic years, potentially affecting more than 200 students across four sections of Classes XI and XII.
The biology teacher, the principal said, teaches at their school for three days a week and spends the remaining days at a nearby school. “That’s how we manage,” the principal said. Regular PGT appointments are made through direct recruitment and promotion under the applicable recruitment rules, according to officials. Following TOI ’s report, a teacher began taking classes three days a week, students said. We haven’t been told yet whether this is a permanent arrangement,” a Class XII student said. A shortage of subject teachers and the lack of additional sections add to the difficulties students face,” said education activist and lawyer Ashok Agarwal, who has raised these concerns in a letter to the education department. The whole education system would collapse if guest teachers were not roped in, according to educators. “The considerable time lag between a teacher retiring and a new one joining creates a perpetual gap,” said Govt School Teachers’ Association general secretary Ajay Veer Yadav.
Schools manage through guest teachers, shared subject specialists or redistribution of classes among available staff. educators say sustained teaching remains essential for completing syllabi and giving students enough time to practise and clear doubts While these arrangements can keep lessons going. A principal of a school in northeast Delhi described how sharing teachers helps during shortages in his district. Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board conducts examinations for direct recruitment, while eligible serving teachers can be promoted after meeting prescribed requirements. The quota referred to in the petition earmarks half the posts for promotion. “We are just hoping that he doesn’t go away. “The situation is particularly serious in Classes XI and XII, where student-classroom ratios remain exceptionally high, especially in physics, chemistry and biology classes. A vacancy in a regular post, however, does not necessarily mean a classroom has no teacher, as guest teachers may be engaged against it. Guest teachers help cover that gap and emergency shortages. For senior secondary students, the concern remains whether such arrangements provide consistent subject teaching throughout the session.
The latest figures from earlier this year showed 15,495 guest teachers working alongside around 44,000 regular teachers, with 6,787 teaching posts, a portion of which were PGT posts, vacant across categories at that time, according to officials.