'No UP teacher recruitment after 2018': Angry aspirants demand vacancies, warn of sit-in protest

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh teaching job aspirants are vexed over no recruitment after 2018 and education minister Sandeep Singh’s statement in the state assembly where he said that the government is currently not considering appointments, citing the Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) in primary schools to be satisfactory. Several students staged protests demanding announcement of primary teacher vacancies and resignation of the education minister.

Counting Shiksha Mitras (para-teachers) among teachers, the basic education minister claimed that the state meets norms for student-teacher ratio in primary schools, which is one teacher for every 30 students.

“Against the total sanctioned 4,17,866 posts of teachers in the primary schools of the state, 85,152 posts are vacant. Including 3,32,734 teachers and 1,43,450 Shikshamitras working in primary schools, the student teacher ratio is approximately 22:1, which is complete as per the standard,” the education minister said in a written reply to the question raised by Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Anil Pradhan in the Vidhan Sabha.

When asked if the government will consider issuing an advertisement for Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) passed candidates, Singh replied that in view of the vacancies for the posts of assistant teachers in primary schools and the standards set for the student teacher ratio of the Right to Child Education Act, recruitment is done from time-to-time as per the requirement. In compliance with the order of the Supreme Court, the recruitment process of 12,460 is currently going on, in which 11,807 assistant teachers have been appointed.

In March last year, Singh informed the state legislative assembly that the UP government had initiated two-phase teacher recruitment in government schools in the year 2018 and the process of recruiting 68,500 assistant teachers in the first phase has been completed. The recruitment of 69,000 assistant teachers in the second phase is pending due to various petitions filed in the Allahabad High Court, he said.

Also read ‘Treated as losers’: Teacher recruitment delays make youths wait years for jobs, marriage, independence

The state government in August last year gave nod to the Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission, and issued guidelines in December for the commission for recruitment of teachers.

UP Teacher Recruitment: Students protest

Several aspirants along with student organizations held protests and submitted their demands to the education commission's chief, which included a recruitment notification for candidates who have qualified Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET), TET, other exams as well as for DElEd candidates. Many aspirants are also campaigning on social media demanding education minister's resignation and vacancies.

“Sir, there has been no teacher recruitment in Uttar Pradesh for 6 years. 20 lakh children are sitting unemployed despite having qualifications. You fought hard to make BJP victorious in 2017. Now the youth and unemployed of this state only hope that you will provide them justice,” an aspirant said in a post in Hindi on X (formerly Twitter).

Complaining about the delay in release of the recruitment drive, a teacher said on X, “They were saying that in 15 days they will send the recruitment by putting it in the calendar. Damn, not even 15 hours have passed and the dead body of ratio has been thrown in the courtyard of the unemployed.”

“It is requested to the honorable education minister to listen to the unemployed people and issue a notification otherwise you will also become a former education minister. The number of unemployed has increased so much in the state. It is requested of you to fill the vacant posts in primary,” said state general secretary of a DElEd student body, demanding the notification.

A student body member threatened stir in front of the education commission if the demands are not met. “This crowd was just a small effort of three days. If no written work is done on the new primary teacher recruitment within 15th August, then we will be forced to stage a continuous sit-in in front of the commission with 10 times more crowd than this.”

“If the teacher recruitment calendar is not released by the date assured by the officials of the new Education Service Selection Commission in the protest yesterday, then I haven't gone anywhere, nor have my people Next time, many times more youth will come out on the streets,” threatened another student group member.