Lok Sabha Question No. 134 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-22
Subject: Shortage of Schools Teachers in Rural and Remote Areas
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Sanjay Dina Patil, Shri Aashtikar Patil Nagesh Bapurao, Shri Bhaskar Murlidhar Bhagare, Shri Mohite Patil Dhairyasheel Rajsinh, Shri Nilesh Dnyandev Lanke, Dr. Amol Ramsing Kolhe, Shri Bajrang Manohar Sonwane, Smt. Supriya Sule, Prof. Varsha Eknath Gaikwad

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO:- 134

ANSWERED ON-22/07/2024

## Shortage of Schools Teachers in Rural and Remote Areas

## 134. SHRI SANJAY DINA PATIL:

SHRI AASHTIKAR PATIL NAGESH BAPURAO:

SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE:

SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH:

SHRI NILESH DNYANDEV LANKE:

DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE:

SHRI BAJRANG MANOHAR SONWANE:

SMT. SUPRIYA SULE:

PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has made any assessment of teachers required in schools situated in rural and remote areas and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether there is continuous shortage of teachers in several schools in Maharashtra particularly in the rural and remote areas dominated by SC/ST communities and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c)  the  details  and  number  of  schools  facing  the  shortage  of  teachers  and  also  the  details  of  the  number  of vacancies of teachers in schools, district-wise;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  measures  to  fill  up  the  vacancies  of  teachers  in  Maharashtra particularly in the rural and remote areas dominated by SC/ST communities;
- (e) if so, the details thereof; and
- (f)  the  other steps  taken  by  the  Government to provide quality education to children in rural and remote areas dominated by SC/ST communities?

## A N S W E R

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (e): The recruitment of teachers in schools is a continuous process as vacancies keep arising due to factors like retirement, resignation and additional requirements on account of enhanced students' strength/new schools. Education is  a  subject  in  the  concurrent  list  of  the  Constitution  and  an  overwhelming  majority  of  schools  are under the administrative control of respective State and Union Territory Governments. States may ensure that the vacancies  are  filled  up  in  a  time  bound  and  transparent  manner.  The  details  of  vacancies  of  teachers  are maintained by the respective State Governments/Union Territory administrations.

The Department of School Education and Literacy, from time to time, through review meetings and advisories, requests the State Governments and UT administrations to fill up these vacancies and their rational deployment. Further, the Central Government through the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha, provides financial assistance  to  the  States  and  UTs  to  maintain  appropriate  Pupil-Teacher  Ratio  (PTR)  for  various  levels  of schooling, as per norms prescribed in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, as amended from time to time.

(f): Several steps have been taken to provide quality education to children, including children in rural and remote areas  dominated  by  SC/ST  communities.  These  include  National  Initiative  for  Proficiency  in  Reading  with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat) for ensuring universal foundational literacy and numeracy by the end  of  Grade  3;  introduction  of  Vidya-Pravesh-Guidelines  for  Three-month  Play-based  School  Preparation Module; launch of National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF SE) and National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF FS) in pursuance of NEP 2020; introduction of Jadui Pitara: a playbased teaching learning material tailored for children between the age group of 3 to 8 years, etc. For continuous in-service  training  of  teachers,  NISHTHA  (National  Initiative  for  School  Heads'  and  Teachers'  Holistic Advancement)  for  different  stages  of  school  education  for  Teachers,  Head  Teachers/Principals  and  other stakeholders in Educational Management is being conducted.

A  comprehensive  initiative  called  PM  eVIDYA  has  been  launched  as  part  of  AtmaNirbhar  Bharat  Abhiyaan unifying  all  efforts  related  to  digital/online/on-air  education  to  enable  multimode  access  to  education.  The initiative includes DIKSHA (one nation, one digital platform) as the nation's digital infrastructure for providing quality e-content; Swayam Prabha TV channel for classes 1 to 12; use of Radio, Community radio and CBSE Podcast- Shiksha Vani; and Special e-content for visually and hearing impaired developed on Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in sign language on NIOS website/YouTube, etc.

Apart  from  the  above,  financial  assistance  is  provided  to  States  under  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of Samagra Shiksha for providing quality education including skill education to all children. Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of PM POSHAN (POshan SHAkti Nirman) one hot cooked meal is provided to all eligible children in Government and Government-aided schools.

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