Chandigarh: Haryana’s govt-school system has 15,451 vacant teacher posts, with Nuh-Mewat alone accounting for 4,954, more than 32% of the state’s vacancies, even as the govt maintains that student-teacher ratios in the state are within prescribed norms.
The figures, disclosed by school education minister Mahipal Dhanda in a written reply to Congress MLA Aditya Surjewala during the Assembly’s Budget session, show sharp district-level disparities. The vacancies include 7,707 TGT/ESHM, 3,998 PGT and 3,746 PRT/head-teacher posts.
Besides Nuh-Mewat, major vacancies have been reported in Yamunanagar (1,721), Palwal (1,595), Gurugram (1,130), Faridabad (934), Ambala (925) and Sirsa (914).
At the state level, the student-teacher ratio is 27:1 at the primary level against the prescribed 30:1 norm, 18:1 at the upper-primary level and 22:1 at the secondary/senior-secondary level. The govt has cited these figures to argue that staffing cannot be assessed merely by counting vacant sanctioned posts.
Dhanda said the govt was “committed to filling up the vacant posts of teachers in a time-bound manner”, but recruitment and promotions in some cases had been delayed by litigation, preventing completion within a fixed timeframe.The concentration of vacancies, however, raises questions about what statewide averages mean for individual schools. A school may continue to struggle with teaching staff even if the overall district or state ratio remains within norms.
The opposition has used the figures to attack the BJP govt’s education record. Haryana Congress president Rao Narender Singh alleged that vacant posts, delayed recruitment, inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of subject specialists contradicted claims of improvement.
“The govt has failed both to strengthen school infrastructure and to ensure the timely recruitment of regular teachers,” Rao said, alleging that students’ education, competitive preparedness and future prospects were being affected.
The govt has disputed claims of lack of facilities. Dhanda said no govt school lacked toilet or drinking-water facilities as of Jan 2026, while Rs 1.9 crore had been sanctioned for additional toilets, including those for children with special needs, in 124 schools. However, 135 schools did not have boundary walls.
