MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (DR. SHASHI THAROOR)
(a) to (c): Under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme for universalising elementary education, 19.82 lakh teacher posts have been sanctioned since 2001-02 for elementary classes, against which 12.86 lakh teachers have been recruited. The State-wise list of teachers sanctioned as well as recruited under the SSA (i.e. covering primary and upper primary levels) is at Annexure 1. The information regarding teacher shortage in government schools at secondary level is not centrally available.
(d): A statement showing the State-wise and year-wise allocation of funds towards teachers’ salaries under the SSA during the last three years and the current year is at Annexure
2(a). The statement showing the State-wise and year-wise release of funds under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), a programme for universalisation of access to secondary education launched in 2009, including teachers’ salaries, at the secondary level, during the last three years and the current year is at Annexure 2(b).
(e): As per an independent study conducted by Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2008-09 the average attendance rate of teachers was 81.7% and 80.5% in primary and upper primary schools, respectively. The State-wise position is at Annexure
3.(f): The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009, stipulates that the prescribed pupil-teacher ratio will be maintained in respect of every school. The States have, therefore, been advised to rationalize deployment of teachers and expedite the recruitment of teachers against posts sanctioned under the SSA as well as the State sector vacancies to address the problem of teacher shortage and urban-rural imbalance in teacher postings. Under the RMSA, 40,018 additional teacher posts have been sanctioned.
