Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Over 5,000 government school teachers in the state are still attached to government offices despite repeated directives from the Commissioner of Public Instructions (CPI) and district administrations to end the practice.
The School Education Department is facing mounting pressure to recall these teachers as schools, already grappling with staff shortages, continue to function without educators who have spent years on administrative attachments instead of teaching in classrooms.
The recall exercise has encountered resistance in several districts, with departmental sources claiming that some collectors and senior administrative officials have shown little interest in ending the attachments, slowing the implementation of the government's directive.
The department first directed 213 attached teachers from different districts to return to their original schools and later instructed all district education officers (DEOs), through a video conference, to identify and recall more attached teachers in their respective districts.
While a few districts, including Bhopal, have initiated action, a large number of teachers remain posted in the State Secretariat, offices of MLAs, collectors, SDMs and other government institutions instead of classrooms.
Teachers at Secretariat
The State Secretariat itself has teachers who have remained away from schools for years. Shivani Yadav is attached to the school education department in the Secretariat. Manish Sharma is attached to department s legal cell.
Teachers at MLAs' offices
Saubhag Singh Patel, assistant teacher, Government Middle School, Umaria Pathra (Jabalpur), has been serving as personal secretary to Bahoriband MLA since August 2024.
Anand Kumar Shrivastava, lecturer, Kareli Higher Secondary School (Narsinghpur), has been attached to the Tendukheda MLA's office since August 2024.
Collector, SDM & dept offices
Teachers posted in school education minister's home district, Narsinghpur, continue to serve in Bhopal institutions.
Rajeshwar Nath Pathak, lecturer, Government School of Excellence in Narsinghpur, has been attached to Madhya Pradesh Textbook Corporation, Bhopal, since June 2009.
Purushottam Prasad Tiwari, lecturer, Sandipani Government School of Excellence, Narsinghpur, has been attached to the Maharshi Patanjali Sanskrit Institute, Bhopal, since January 2022.
Mahendra Kumar Jhariya, assistant teacher, Supeli Middle School, has been attached to Bahoriband SDM office since March 2025.
Ajit Dwivedi, assistant teacher from Jabalpur, has been attached to PWD office since July 2025. Dilip Singh Thakur, primary teacher, Gohalpur Girls Higher Secondary School, has been attached to Jabalpur Collector's Office (land records) since June 2025.
Bhopal recalls teachers
Acting on the directions, the Bhopal DEO issued an order on July 7 and relieved 47 teachers to return to their original postings. Of the 47, only 11 joined their schools.
The Collector's office then issued an order on July 16 relieving 30 school education department employees attached to government offices and directing them to report to their original places of posting.
The order followed the district education officer's July 8 directive cancelling employee attachments. They were relieved with immediate effect to resume duties in government schools in Bhopal district.
