Inqlabi Urges Fast-Track Recruitment of 8,311 Vacant Teacher Posts to Address Severe Staff Shortages in J&K Schools

GNS ONLINE NEWS PORTAL 

JAMMU AUGUST 24:- Senior PDP leader Mohammad Farooq Inqlabi has urged the Jammu and Kashmir administration to immediately initiate fast-track recruitment for the 8,311 vacant teaching posts across the Union Territory. He expressed serious concern over the deteriorating state of education in far-flung areas where government schools are functioning without adequate staff, and in many cases, a single teacher is handling entire middle schools. Inqlabi highlighted that according to official figures, 4,325 teaching positions are vacant in the Jammu division and 3,986 in the Kashmir division.

The breakdown includes 1,665 teachers/masters, 2,218 lecturers, 402 headmasters, and 40 principals in Jammu, while Kashmir has 1,671 teachers/masters, 1,957 lecturers, 300 headmasters, and 58 principals still unappointed.

Inqlabi said this acute shortage of teaching staff severely affects the academic performance and morale of students, especially in remote regions where access to private education is limited or non-existent. Inqlabi criticized the government for ignoring repeated pleas from local communities and called for the immediate advertisement and filling of all vacant posts through a transparent and merit-based recruitment process.

Inqlabi emphasized that education must be treated as a right, not a privilege, and demanded that the administration allocate necessary resources to strengthen the government school network, particularly in underdeveloped and mountainous areas.

Inqlabi concluded by urging the Lieutenant Governor-led government to place education at the top of its policy priorities, warning that any further delay could amount to a betrayal of these aspirations of the youth of Jammu and Kashmir.