Parliament Question: Teacher Vacancies and Training in West Bengal

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 ProjectApproval 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 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. ******