SRINAGAR: A total of 4,485 lecturer posts are lying vacant in Jammu and Kashmir, including 2,447 in Jammu division and 2,038 in Kashmir division, the government informed the Legislative Assembly, attributing delays in filling vacancies to administrative processes, policy decisions and ongoing recruitment through the Public Service Commission.
Replying to a question raised by MLA Sunil Bhardwaj, the School Education Department said district-wise data indicates a significant shortfall of lecturers across both divisions, contributing to increased academic burden on existing staff. It said that 594 posts of lecturers in various disciplines have been referred to the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission for recruitment, including 575 posts through an earlier reference and an additional 19 posts sent on January 1, 2025.
The government said that out of 27 disciplines, the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission has so far forwarded select lists for nine subjects, including Kashmir, Dogri, Statistics, Punjabi, Music, Geography, History, Arabic and Geology, comprising 30 candidates, and further action is underway to complete the recruitment process.
Explaining the reasons for delays, the department said that certain categories of posts, particularly under the direct recruitment quota for general line teachers, could not be filled due to a freeze imposed following a 2018 Cabinet decision linked to the transition of Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers into regular teaching cadres. It added that vacancies in the promotion quota are being filled through Departmental Promotion Committees and the Public Service Commission as per prescribed procedures.
As an interim measure to address shortages, the department said it has initiated the elevation of eligible post-graduate masters and teachers as in-charge lecturers across various disciplines. It said 147 such elevations have been made in Geography, 100 in Political Science and 10 in Dogri, while similar elevations in subjects such as Music, Arabic, Punjabi, Philosophy, Sanskrit, Commerce, Economics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology are in the pipeline and will be completed in a time-bound manner.
The government said there is no proposal to engage guest faculty in educational institutions, but added that Cluster Resource Coordinators have been deployed during the academic session 2025–26 as a temporary measure to support higher secondary schools facing staff shortages.
It further said that efforts are being made to maintain the prescribed pupil-teacher ratio across educational institutions, which currently stands at an average of 1:15, with a slightly higher ratio of 1:16 reported in Udhampur district. However, it acknowledged that shortages persist in some areas, particularly in subject-specific teaching positions, due to the absence of general line teacher recruitment over a prolonged period.
To address these gaps, the department said it has undertaken measures including staff rationalisation, engagement of subject specialists, capacity building of teachers and strengthened monitoring and supervision mechanisms. It added that the focus remains on strengthening existing educational institutions through infrastructure and staff augmentation, rather than creating new ones, particularly in districts like Udhampur and constituencies such as Ramnagar.
