Odisha SC & ST Development schools hit by teacher vacancies

Mayurbhanj's residential schools run by the Odisha Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Scheduled Caste (SC) Development (SSD) department are grappling with large-scale vacancies of teacher posts.

At least 293 regular and 369 contractual positions are currently vacant.

The acute shortage has pushed the student-teacher ratio to 46-50 per teacher, which is higher than the Right to Education (RTE) Act limits of 30:1 and 35:1, raising concerns about the dropout rate, which could further damage the tribal educational system.

According to data from Odisha's District Welfare Department, the highest number of vacancies are recorded in Matric CT (206), TGT Arts (16), physical education teacher (16), and Hindi teacher (10). Aside from this, 369 contract posts remain open, including LCCA/CCA (286) and education assistants (34).

According to the official statistics, 167 residential schools and 13 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) serve 50,279 children in the area. Out of 1,326 sanctioned teacher positions, 293 are unfilled.

Currently, 47,629 pupils are enrolled in Ashram/SSD schools and 2,650 in EMRS, with just 1,033 regular teachers and 1,581 contractual workers.

Speaking with The New Indian Express, district welfare officer Gurucharan Mallik stated that attempts are being taken to fill vacancies and that recruitment processes are under progress.