Staff Crunch In Govt Schools: MP High Court Asks State To Place Teachers Vacancy Data On Record

The Madhya Pradesh High Court, on Tuesday (January 20), directed the State Government to file an affidavit showing the number of teaching posts lying vacant in government schools, in a public interest litigation claiming that about 600 government schools were inadequately staffed or had no teaching staff. The division bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf observed, "Learned counsel appearing for the State prays for some more time to file a reply. At request, list on 24.02.2026. The respondents in their affidavit shall also indicate the number of Government Schools in the State and the position with regard to vacancies in the said Schools". The PIL filed on December 10, 2025 claimed that about 499 schools were inadequately staffed and 102 schools had no teachers available. The petitioner also raised grievances regarding the posting and transfers of the said teachers. Per the petitioner, children studying in government schools are being denied their fundamental right to education as guaranteed under Article 21-A of the Constitution. It was also asserted that despite the enactment of the Right of Children for Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) over 15 years ago, the State has failed to appoint an adequate number of teachers. The petition emphasized that Section 8(d) of the RTE Act casts an obligation upon the government to ensure the timely appointment of teachers in accordance with prescribed norms. However, the State's failure to discharge this duty has resulted in the collapse of the mandated pupil-teacher ratio under Section 25 of the Act, rendering the right to education illusory fr thousands of children, especially those coming from socially or economically disadvantaged backgrounds.The petition, thus, sought directions to immediately fill all vacant posts, ensuring strict compliance with Section 8(d) of the RTE Act. However, the bench limited the scope of the petition, noting that the respective teachers can raise an independent petition if they were aggrieved by the transfer or posting issues. Therefore, the bench limited the scope of the petition to the inadequate or non-availability of teaching staff in the schools. The case was listed for further hearing on February 26, 2026. Case Title: Lok Singh v State [WP-38550-2025]Click here to read/download the Order

Staff Crunch In Govt Schools: MP High Court Asks State To Place Teachers Vacancy Data On Record

Jayanti Pahwa

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