Activists, other stakeholders urge BMC, state govt to get their act together as RTI data shows 5,587 vacant teaching positions, Marathi medium schools reflect highest proportion at 64 per cent
According to a 2022 RTI query by BJP MLA Ameet Satam, 110 civic-run Marathi medium schools have closed in the past decade. File pic
Even as the BMC claims to be upgrading and rebranding its education system, civic-run primary schools in the city are facing a shortage of teachers. The civic body has 5,587 vacant positions for the teaching staff, accounting for around 42 per cent of the total requirement, shows data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation provided in an RTI reply.
Marathi medium schools account for the most vacancies at 2,059, accounting for almost 64 per cent of the total requirement, followed by Urdu medium schools at 1,207 vacancies (37 per cent), and Hindi and Gujarati medium schools with 26 per cent
and 23 per cent vacancies, respectively.
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As per an RTI reply received in December 2022 by Girgaon-based activist Jeetendra Ghadge of the Young Whistleblowers Foundation, of the overall 13,420 teaching posts in various mediums and subjects like physical education, arts, craft, music etc., 5,587 posts are vacant.
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In its most ambitious project, Mumbai Public School (MPS), of the total 873 teaching posts, 531 are vacant. Vacancy in English medium schools is around 14 per cent, BMC’s data stated.
Ghadge said, “At one end, the number of teachers has declined, and there is such a huge number of vacancies. On the other, the BMC is boasting about its virtual classrooms. I urge the administration to bring in transparency and audit the virtual classroom implementation in BMC schools.”
“We are filling up these posts; many of the vacant posts will be filled by this academic year. The process is going on. The list in the RTI reply is of trained teachers. The recruitment takes time,” said a senior official from the BMC’s education department.
Closure of schools
Many have attributed the shutting down of Marathi medium schools to these teaching vacancies. As per data obtained by BJP MLA from Andheri West constituency Ameet Satam in June 2022, in the past 10 years, 110 Marathi medium schools run by the BMC have shut down, whereas 47,000 students have left the schools.
Sushil Shejule, the coordinator of the Marathi Shala Sansthachalak Sangh and a member of the Marathi Abhyaas Kendra, said, “We are struggling with a shortage of teachers throughout the state. Who will accomplish the task of upgrading the education system amid a teacher shortage? Students across the state have suffered, and the administration has done little to address this. This is also the case in the BMC education department.” Shejule added, “The TET exam concluded on Saturday. The results are expected in a week. After that, the recruitment process will be done through the PAVITRA portal, which will take time.”
13,420
Total no. of teaching posts in BMC schools
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