Academics take a back seat as staff crunch hits Kendriya Vidyalayas

MoS for Education informed Parliament last July that there were 602 teaching staff vacancies in the State as of June 30, 2022.

Hyderabad: Academics in Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs), primarily meant for the children of Central government employees including defence and paramilitary personnel, is taking a back seat given the shortage of teaching staff.

The issue has reached a threshold this academic year with some KVs in the city declaring holidays for one or two days a week for some classes at the primary level.

“This issue of declaring holidays began one week before Christmas. A week later, the school again announced holidays for two days. Upon enquiring, we were informed that there is a shortage of teachers,” a parent said requesting anonymity. The school has been announcing holidays for each of the primary classes on alternate days, complain parents.

A total of 35 KVs are functioning in the State. Minister of State for Education Annpurna Devi told Parliament in July 2022 that there were 602 teaching and 53 non-teaching staff vacancies in the State as of June 30, 2022.

Speaking to Telangana Today, head of a KV in the city, admitted that not just their school, but KVs across south India were facing a dearth of teaching staff. It was also admitted that the school was declaring holidays for some classes at the primary level due to a lack of teachers.

As against 602 teaching staff vacancies in KVs in the State, 454 were engaged on a contract basis as of June last year.

With the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan recently issuing a recruitment notification for teaching and administrative posts in 1,249 KVs across the country, many working on a contract basis have resigned to pursue their aspirations for a permanent role. These resignations, coupled with transfers of teachers, are affecting the academics of students.

“The school should have 30 teachers but now it is functioning with 20 teaching staff. Several staff on contract quit their job to prepare for the recruitment and some teachers were transferred. As there are vacancies in the schools, we have scheduled an interview for recruiting contract teaching staff this weekend and by next week, the school will function with full teaching staff,” a KV HM said.

The KV Sangathan had issued direct recruitment notifications to 239 principal posts, 203 vice principals, 6,414 primary teachers, 594 postgraduate teachers, 1,305 trained graduate teachers, 303 primary teachers (music), and 355 librarians among other administrative posts in KVs across the country.