Vacant Teacher Posts, Limited Recruitment Trigger Indefinite Protest Across Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Government schools are facing a persistent shortage of teachers, with tens of thousands of sanctioned teaching posts lying vacant.

At the same time, teacher recruitment aspirants are protesting against the limited number of posts offered by the government and its failure to expand the ongoing recruitment drive.

This contrast - a large number of vacant posts on one hand and unemployed qualified candidates seeking appointments on the other - has become the central issue behind the indefinite protest at Neelam Park in Bhopal.

Candidates from across the state have been staging protest since August 21. The protesters argue that the government cannot cite shortage of teachers in schools while refusing to include the vacant posts in the recruitment process.

52,571 posts vacant across state

According to official data, there are 2,83,223 sanctioned teaching posts across primary, middle and higher secondary schools against 2,30,652 working teachers. This leaves 52,571 posts vacant, nearly 18.6% of the sanctioned strength. The latest UDISE+ data also highlights staffing gaps in the state. The 2024-25 report records 7,17,493 teachers across schools, with a pupil-teacher ratio of 21. It also shows 7,217 single-teacher schools catering to more than 2.29 lakh students.

Recruitment announced for 7,929 posts

The demand comes after the state notified a comparatively limited number of posts. The 2025 recruitment included 7,929 subject-wise secondary teacher posts, along with posts for sports and music, taking the Class-2 and Class-3 recruitment exercise to 10,758 posts.

The separate Primary School Teacher Selection Test-2025 advertised 13,089 posts including 10,150 under School Education and 2,939 under Tribal Affairs.

The department, meanwhile, has continued appointments against the notified vacancies rather than announcing a blanket increase. In July, it issued appointment orders to 5,017 teachers - 4,067 secondary and 950 primary teachers. The Employees Selection Board has also published the revised result and updated seat matrix for Primary School Teacher Selection Test-2025.

Shortage not reflected in recruitment drive

The protesters, however, say the shortage is not being reflected in the recruitment exercise. They are demanding at least 3,000 additional posts in every subject under the Class-2/Secondary Teacher recruitment, or a minimum overall increase of 10,000 posts.

They are also seeking 25,000 posts under the Class-3/Primary Teacher recruitment. Their other demands include adding vacant posts to the current recruitment process and conducting a second round of counselling.