Hindi Teachers Teaching English, Science Teachers Taking Arts Classes: Inside Chhattisgarh’s Understaffed Atmanand Schools

Raipur: With the start of the new academic session in Chhattisgarh, the impact of teacher shortages at Swami Atmanand Excellence Schools has become clearly visible in classrooms. The School Education Department halted recruitment in several districts, leaving a large number of teaching posts vacant — a situation now being felt directly by students.

The shortage has reached a point where, in several schools, Hindi-medium teachers are teaching English-medium students, while Science teachers are taking Arts classes in the absence of dedicated Arts staff. In many places, individual teachers are having to take up to six periods a day just to ensure no class is left without a teacher.

Government Had Promised Recruitment by 14 July

School Education Minister Gajendra Yadav had earlier announced that the previous recruitment process would be scrapped in favour of centralised recruitment, promising it would be completed by 14 July. However, the deadline has passed and the recruitment process is yet to begin, worsening the teacher shortage in schools.

Nearly 50,000 Posts Vacant Across the State

According to officials in the Education Department, around 50,000 posts for teachers, lecturers and assistant teachers remain vacant across the state. Recruitment for 5,000 posts was announced recently, along with plans to hold an examination in October, but neither applications nor a formal recruitment notification have been issued so far.

Ground Reality in Capital's Schools

Dani Fakhra, Principal of PM Shri Harihar Government English-Medium Excellence School in Gobra-Navapara, said that with no English-medium teachers available, Hindi-medium teachers are teaching English-medium students. Even yoga teachers are taking classes to ensure students' education is not affected.

Meanwhile, Abhilasha Indwar, Principal of Kanshiram Sharma Government English-Medium Excellence School in Bhanpuri, said the school faces a severe teacher shortage. With no Arts teacher in the Hindi medium, Science teachers are taking Arts classes instead. The school currently has 13 teachers in place while 11 posts remain vacant, forcing individual teachers to handle up to six classes each.

Ashok Banjara, Deputy Director of the Directorate of Public Instruction, said tenders are being floated for recruitment at Swami Atmanand schools through the GeM portal, with the process currently under way. An examination will be held for direct recruitment, and the process is expected to be completed soon through the appointed agency.

Anil Shukla, former principal and state president of the Chhattisgarh Teachers' Congress, said that while the state government speaks of quality education, the ground reality of poor school infrastructure and teacher shortages has derailed the education system. He noted that the Education Minister's promise to appoint teachers at Swami Atmanand schools by 14 July had not been fulfilled, and that this was directly affecting students' studies.