Over 3,300 Himachal govt schools have single teacher; thousands of posts vacant

A severe shortage and uneven deployment of teachers have emerged as a major challenge for Himachal Pradesh’s government school system, with more than 3,300 schools functioning with only one teacher and thousands of teaching posts remaining vacant across the state.

Education Minister Rohit Thakur recently told the state Assembly that 3,214 government primary schools and 101 secondary schools were operating with a single teacher. The state also has 5,209 vacancies for Trained Graduate Teachers (TGTs) and Junior Basic Teachers (JBTs). Another 393 primary schools and three secondary schools are being managed through teachers posted on deputation.

The problem is particularly acute in some rural and remote areas. During the Assembly proceedings, it emerged that 12 primary schools in the Pachhad constituency were functioning without any teachers. In Kullu district alone, 314 primary schools have only one teacher each, placing the entire responsibility for multiple classes as well as administrative work on a single member of staff.

One teacher, several classes

The situation at Government Primary School Banogi in Kullu illustrates the difficulties confronting such institutions. The school has 21 students from pre-primary to Class 5, but a single regular teacher has been managing the institution for nearly two years. Teaching children across different age groups and syllabi simultaneously makes it difficult to provide individual attention, while routine responsibilities outside the classroom further add to the workload.

The local School Management Committee had earlier arranged another teacher by collecting Rs 200 per student every month, but that arrangement subsequently ended. A JBT trainee has temporarily provided additional support at the school, but her training period is scheduled to conclude on September 14.

The shortage presents a peculiar challenge for Himachal Pradesh because the state has a relatively favourable overall pupil-teacher ratio. The problem, therefore, is not merely the aggregate number of teachers but their availability and distribution across a geographically difficult network of schools.

The government has pointed to low enrolment in several institutions as another complication and has indicated that rationalisation of schools and better utilisation of existing teaching resources will form part of its response.

Recruitment process being expedited

The state government has said recruitment is being accelerated to address vacancies. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has assured that steps are being taken to fill posts even as the administration examines ways of deploying available teachers more effectively.

The scale of the problem is also reflected in national education data. UDISE+ figures for 2025-26 recorded 3,128 single-teacher schools across all management categories in Himachal Pradesh, highlighting the persistence of the staffing imbalance.

The shortage comes at a time when a substantial pool of qualified candidates remains registered as unemployed in the state. According to figures presented in the Assembly, 65,254 BEd-qualified and 16,028 JBT or Diploma in Elementary Education-qualified jobseekers are registered with the employment department.

For students in remote communities, however, the immediate concern remains access to adequate classroom teaching. A single teacher responsible for several grades must simultaneously teach different curricula, maintain school records and oversee administrative responsibilities, making staffing shortages a direct challenge to the quality of education delivered in the classroom.