The state assembly was informed on March 15 that 54 Government primary schools in two districts of Gujarat are operating with only one teacher each, while more than 900 teaching positions remain vacant in these areas.
The Government informed the House that initiatives are being taken to provide adequate education to pupils attending state-run schools.
During Question Hour, Education Minister Kuber Dindor responded to Aam Aadmi Party MLA Hemant Ahir’s inquiry concerning a teacher shortage in the districts of Jamnagar and Devbhumi Dwarka by stating that 54 government elementary schools in these districts operate with only one teacher per institution. Dindor stated that 46 of these 54 schools are located in the district of Devbhumi Dwarka, while eight are located in neighboring Jamnagar.
He said that teaching positions are unfilled due to teachers’ transfers out of these districts or retirements.
According to the minister, there are currently 905 vacant teaching positions in government-run, granted, and non-granted primary schools in Jamnagar (330 positions) and Devbhumi Dwarka (575 positions). According to advertisements by Dindor, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is taking several measures to ensure that no pupil is deprived of an education owing to a teacher shortage.
He informed the House that the recruitment of instructors for public schools is presently underway. Dindor stated that until a permanent teacher is selected, the state government educates pupils by sending “pravasi” (visiting) teachers to schools with a teacher shortage.
The minister stated that whereas 102 visiting teachers were appointed in Jamnagar, 256 were appointed in Devbhumi Dwarka as a temporary measure to ensure that pupils would not suffer.
In response to a relevant question posed by Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar, Dindor informed the House that there are 2,082 unfilled teaching positions in government primary schools in the districts of Ahmedabad (1,708 vacancies) and Gandhinagar (252 vacancies) (374). The two districts encompass Ahmedabad, the commercial hub of Gujarat, and Gandhinagar, the state capital.
