NCERT, CBSE Face Massive Staff Crunch; 2,529 Posts Vacant, Parliamentary Panel Warns Staff Shortage Could Put National Exams At Risk

New Delhi: More than half of the sanctioned posts at the NCERT are vacant, while 44 per cent of positions at CBSE remain unfilled, a parliamentary committee has said, flagging staff shortages at the two key school education bodies.

The findings are part of the Tenth Report (Eighteenth Lok Sabha) of the Committee on Estimates (2026-27) on 'Budget and Policy Aspects for Providing Affordable and Quality Education in the Country including Review of Central Board of Secondary Education', presented to Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

The committee noted that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has played a key role in shaping the educational policies in India, including the National Educational Policy 2020 which aims to revolutionise education in India.

The Education Ministry has informed the committee that the NCERT has developed the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCFFS) and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE), and has initiated the process of developing syllabi and textbooks based on these frameworks in consonance with the vision of NEP 2020.

The committee, however, expressed concern about the existence of a number of vacancies in various posts in NCERT.

It noted that as on October 2025, against the sanctioned strength of 2,844 posts at various branches of NCERT, the actual strength was only 1,248, leaving vacancies of 1,596 posts.

Of these, 145 vacancies were in academic, 131 in school teaching, 916 in ministerial and 404 in ancillary posts.

"The Committee are of the view that having so many posts vacant in NCERT which is an apex body instrumental in rethinking and reshaping education in a manner that is national in scope, deserve urgent attention of the Ministry," the report said.

The committee desired that "sincere effort should be made by the Ministry for filling up of various vacancies", considering that education constitutes the transformative force for the growth of the nation and the important role played by NCERT in bringing about this transformation.

The committee also expressed concern over a "major shortage" of permanent staff in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

It noted that out of 2,117 approved positions, 933 posts (44 per cent) are vacant. The major shortage is seen in Group 'C' support staff, with 595 vacant positions.

The committee further noted that CBSE is currently relying on temporary, contractual staff to handle its daily work.

"The Committee are of the view that such shortage of permanent staff may put the safety, quality, and smooth running of major national board exams at serious risk," the report said.

The panel strongly recommended that the CBSE "should stop relying on temporary contractual workers for sensitive exam works" and take necessary measures to fill all vacant positions through fast-track recruitment in a time-bound manner.

It also noted that the CBSE is a self-funded autonomous body and does not receive any grant-in-aid from the ministry.

It said the number of schools affiliated with CBSE has increased from 3,787 in 1992-93 to 31,234 in 2024-25 (as on October 8, 2025).

The committee also noted that the CBSE has expanded well and is now being managed through 25 regional offices and five sub-regional offices to cater to requirements of a growing number of students.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)