Only 34.8% female teachers in JNVs; UP sees critical shortage at higher secondary level: Govt

The representation of female teachers in the Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalays (JNVs) is less than half while there is a critical shortage of teachers in Uttar Pradesh at higher secondary level, as per the data provided by Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan in a written reply to a Lok Sabha question.

When asked about the shortage of teachers in schools and colleges across the country, the education minister said that the recruitment of teachers is a continuous process as vacancies keep arising due to factors like retirement, resignation and additional requirements on account of enhanced student strength or establishment of new schools or colleges.

Pupil-teacher ratio in schools

According to UDISE Plus 2023-24 data, the pupil-teacher ratio is highest at the higher secondary level, 24, which shows shortage of subject-specific teachers as the RTE norm sets a 35:1 ratio for upper primary levels. At the secondary level, the low PTR of 16 suggests better individual attention for students.

In Uttar Pradesh, the high PTR of 35 poses a critical issue as it highlights the shortage of teachers, especially subject specialists. In comparison to the national average, the ratio is significantly higher in the very primary level of education in schools and keeps increasing.

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The education ministry informed that in UP’s Muzaffarnagar district, there are two vacancies of teachers in Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and one teacher vacancy in Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) as of June, 2025.

Moreover, over the last four years, the student-teacher ratio has declined from 29 to 27 in KVs, indicating a progress in teacher recruitment, but still remains high as compared to the national ratio. NVS on the other hand saw a stable PTR, at 17, during the four-year period from 2022-23 to 2025-26, showing strong teacher deployment.

Female teachers in schools, colleges

As per the UDISE+ 2023-24 report, the representation of female teachers in the country across all schools stood at 53.33%, MoE informed the Parliament. The AISHE report shows that the representation of female teachers in Higher Education Institutions across the country stood at 43.40% for the survey year 2021-22.

As of June, 2025, the representation of female teachers in the central schools of KVS and NVS is 49.32% and 34.81% respectively.

In order to increase the representation of female teachers in JNVs, the Centre has granted 10-year age relaxation to the female candidates. Priority is also given to single women and spouse category employees during annual teacher transfer drives.

As on date, KVS has recruited 11,733 teachers while NVS has appointed 2,007 teachers. Furthermore, up to July 12, 2025, a total of 16,507 faculty positions have been filled up in the mission mode by the central higher education institutions.