Tamil Nadu allocates ₹6.26 crore for student enrolment in government schools; overlooks teacher vacancies
The Department of School Education and Directorate of Elementary Education, Tamil Nadu, have jointly announced the allocation of ₹6.26 crore for student enrolment in the government primary, middle, and higher secondary schools for the academic year 2024-2025. While this allocation aims to ensure the enrolment of all schoolaged children, concerns persist regarding teacher vacancies across the State.
According to data from the School Education Department in October 2023, Tamil Nadu at present has 60,000 government school teachers catering to approximately 52.62 lakh students across 37,387 government and aided schools. Recently, the Tamil Nadu Teacher Recruitment Board (TRB) identified 1,788 vacancies for primary, middle, and higher secondary teaching positions.
Over the past five years, TRB records indicate a recruitment of around 1,6002,500 teachers annually. However, during the same period, the influx of new students into government primary, middle, and higher secondary schools had surged. For instance, admissions of students aged 6-14 reached a staggering 11 lakhs in 2022 and 2023 (only in government schools). Anticipating further growth, a top official in the School Education Department forecasts an additional enrolment of at least 2 lakh students this academic year, attributed in part to the Chief Minister’s Breakfast scheme and the early onset of admissions.
K. M. Gyanavel, former head of a government school in Coimbatore, highlighted the critical disparity between teacher recruitment and student admission. “There is a need for equitable attention to be paid to the studentteacher ratio and measures to ensure that enrolled students remain in school throughout the academic year, rather than dropping out. But with recruitments not being in tandem with admissions, it is difficult for students to remain focused in classes and avail the attention they deserve.”
Moreover, the Central Government’s Samagra Shiksha programme sets clear student-teacher ratios: five teachers and three vacancies, including the position of school head.
Moreover, numerous rural schools lack teachers for essential extracurricular activities, despite a mandate by the State Education Department to recruit for these roles. Concurrently, TRB vacancies predominantly centre on teachers for core subjects, exacerbating the strain on educational resources.
In response to this, J. Kumaragurubaran, Secretary of the School Education Department, told The Hindu, “We identified 2,800 vacancies for which BT assistants test was conducted. Further, TRB will recruit around 1,800 teachers in June. We will also aim to conduct special drives to recruit more teachers if needed.”