Lok Sabha Question No. 5762 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-30
Subject: Teacher Vacancies and Training in West Bengal
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Raju Bista

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5762 ANSWERED ON 30.03.2026

## Teacher Vacancies and Training in West Bengal

5762. Shri Raju Bista:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  number  of  teacher  posts  sanctioned,  filled  and  lying  vacant  at  primary,  upper  primary  and secondary levels in West Bengal since 2019, year-wise/district-wise;
- (b) the amount of funds allocated for teacher training and capacity building in these districts under central schemes;
- (c) the number of teachers who have undergone training since 2019; and
- (d) whether any special measures are being taken by the Government to address teacher shortages in remote and border schools and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (d): Education being a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, the majority of schools in  the  country  are  under  the  administrative  control  of  the  respective  State  Governments  and  Union Territory  Administrations.  Accordingly,  matters  relating  to  recruitment,  service  conditions  and deployment of teachers fall within the administrative domain of the concerned States/UTs. Vacancies of teachers arise from time to time due to factors such as retirement, resignation, creation of new posts, rationalisation and increased enrolment, including in rural and remote areas. The data regarding vacant posts of teachers and the number of schools facing a shortage of teachers, including in the State of West Bengal, is maintained by the respective States/UTs.

As per the UDISE+ 2024-25 report, there are 4,56,659 government teachers in the State of West Bengal.

Under  the  Samagra  Shiksha,  in-service  training  of  teachers  and  teacher  educators  is  a  key intervention  aimed  at  improving  the  quality  of  education.  These  trainings  are  implemented  by States/UTs through SCERTs and DIETs, based on State-specific proposals approved in the Project

Approval Board (PAB) meetings. Financial assistance is also provided for strengthening SCERTs and DIETs, with SCERT designated as the nodal agency for planning and conducting integrated annual training programmes for teachers across all levels from ECCE to senior secondary.

The  financial  and  physical  approvals  for  training  of  in-service  teachers  and  head  teachers  in  West Bengal since 2019 are as under:

| Training for In-service Teacher and Head Teachers   | Training for In-service Teacher and Head Teachers   | Training for In-service Teacher and Head Teachers   |
|-----------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
| Year                                                | Financial Approval (in lakhs)                       | Physical number (Approval)                          |
| 2019-20                                             | 12823.02                                            | 435010                                              |
| 2020-21                                             | 4236.82                                             | 423682                                              |
| 2021-22                                             | 1257.92                                             | 125792                                              |
| 2022-23                                             | 624.26                                              | 62426                                               |
| 2023-24                                             | 649.06                                              | 59446                                               |
| 2024-25                                             | 1967.5                                              | 69699                                               |
| 2025-26                                             | 1349.895                                            | 82806                                               |

Source: PAB Minutes

The Central Government periodically advises States/UTs to fill vacant posts through transparent and merit-based recruitment processes, including through autonomous teacher recruitment boards or similar mechanisms. The progress of recruitment is regularly reviewed through meetings and advisories, with  emphasis  on  competitive  selection,  consistency  and  technology-based  teacher  requirement planning and forecasting. Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha, States/UTs are supported in undertaking rational and transparent deployment of teachers, including through online systems, to ensure equitable availability of teachers in rural and underserved areas. States/UTs are also encouraged  to  adopt  school  complex/cluster-based  approaches  and  teacher-sharing  mechanisms  to address localised shortages.

Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha, support is  provided under the Access and Retention component for construction and strengthening of residential quarters for teachers, particularly  in  sparsely  populated,  hilly,  forested  and  border  areas  with  difficult  terrain.  Special emphasis is laid on the deployment of female teachers and provision of residential facilities for them in remote locations, with a view to addressing gender, social and regional disparities in access to school education. These provisions serve as important non-monetary incentives for improving the availability and retention of teachers in such challenging areas.

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