Over 12,000 teaching positions are lying vacant in Kendriya Vidyalayas across the country, while over 9,000 teachers have been engaged on contractual basis, according to the education ministry. The maximum vacant teaching positions are in Tamil Nadu (1,162), Madhya Pradesh (1,066) and Karnataka (1,006), as stated in a report by PTI. 

The statistics were shared by the Union Minister of State for Education, Annapurna Devi, in response to a written question in Lok Sabha. "There are 12,044 teaching posts and 1,332 non-teaching posts lying vacant in Kendriya Vidyalayas across the country. The vacancies arise due to transfer, retirement from time to time," Devi said.

The minister said that efforts are being made to fill up the vacant posts. "Filling up of vacancies is a continuous process and efforts are made to fill up the vacancies as per the provisions of the relevant recruitment rules," Devi said. "Teachers are also engaged on contractual basis for temporary duration by Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) to ensure that the teaching-learning process is not hampered," she added.

Currently, a total of 9,161 teachers have been engaged in KVs across the country on contractual basis.