A Report sent to the Delhi government as part of the Education department’s review of ongoing improvement projects in the city’s government schools has revealed that while several of these projects are running behind schedule, government schools in the Capital are also facing an acute shortage of staff.

As per the report by the Directorate of Education that was sent to the Chief Minister’s office in May, schools run by the Delhi government are short of important teaching and non-teaching staff, including over 200 principals and 600 vice-principals.

The DoE runs 925 schools in the Capital and has asked for additional posts to be sanctioned so that appointments can be made.

Further, there is a shortage of over 1,000 teachers for senior classes as well as nearly 300 assistant teachers for nursery classes in government schools. There are also several other categories of teaching and non-teaching staff that need to be augmented to ensure proper functioning of these schools.

The teachers’ union of Delhi government schools has been demanding the appointment of two vice-principals in senior secondary schools to ensure a smoother administrative process.

“There is also a shortage of teachers due to which existing teachers have to put in hours much beyond the stipulated time. Many of them teach up to 50 periods a week, much more than the hours per week of work required from a school teacher,” Om Singh, president, Government School Teachers’ Union, said.

The proposal submitted takes into account the requirements of existing schools as well as the expansion of government-run schools through the addition of extra classrooms and the building of new schools.

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