8k faculty posts lying vacant in KVs, finds RTI – Times of India

An RTI query filed by a law student and an activist, Aniket Gaurav, elicited these details of the total number of sanctioned and vacant posts at KVs. “Please provide the total number of sanctioned reserved posts and vacant reserved posts for SC, ST, OBC and PwD for teaching and non-teaching positions in Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan schools,” Gaurav had asked in his RTI query to the department of school education and literacy, Union ministry of education, in April.

“It is not just about teaching positions that are lying vacant across institutions that are under the control of the Central government. The RTI findings have also revealed that a large number of non-teaching posts are also vacant. It is beyond my understanding as to why these vacancies are not being filled in a time-bound manner. On the one hand, we are talking about the prevailing unemployment in our country, and on the other, posts of teachers and other administrative staff are lying vacant in central schools and various other institutions,” Gaurav said.

In its response, the department of school education and literacy transferred the request to the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. Assistant commissioner (academics), KVS headquarters, Dharmendra Patle responded as on December 1, 2020, at least 8,197 faculty posts out of 48,923 sanctioned posts are lying vacant. For 11,665 sanctioned non-teaching posts, as high as 5,501 posts remain unfilled.

Patle further informed the RTI applicant that in KVS, the Government of India rules and regulations are followed in reservations for SC (15%), ST (7.5%), OBC (27%) and persons with disabilities (3%).

Gaurav had filed the RTI after the Union ministry of education in March came out with a figure of 38% faculty shortage in premier institutions IITs, IIMs, IIITs, Central universities and other institutions. “When I read this media report, I thought to check the statistics for teaching and non-teaching posts lying vacant in various schools so that this issue too can be highlighted and the competent authority takes immediate necessary steps to fill these posts,” Gaurav said.