Andhra Pradesh: 39,000 vacancies for teachers in elementary schools

According to the meeting minutes of the Project Approval Board (PAB) for Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Andhra Pradesh has more than 39,000 elementary level teaching positions – for classes 1 to 8 – and more than 11,000 secondary level teaching vacancies. The secondary level includes classes 9 and 10.

The PAB minutes state that this year's teacher vacancies at the primary level are 0.52 per cent higher than it was in 2021–22. The number of teachers at the secondary level has decreased.

Despite the fact that 6,119 teachers were designated as "surplus" at the elementary level, the report also indicated a rise in single-teacher schools at the primary and upper primary classes. This demonstrated a teacher shortage situation in some schools, most commonly in urban regions.


Pupil-to-teacher ratios (PTRs) at the primary school level must be 30:1 for classes 1–5 and 35:1 for classes 6–8, according to the law. Although secondary schooling is not mandated by law, SSA guidelines also call for a PTR of 35:1.

The research also pointed out that below-recommended pupil-to-teacher ratios were observed in 47.56 per cent of primary schools and 17.93 per cent of secondary schools.

There is a persistent lack of subject matter instructors. In Andhra Pradesh, social studies had the least PTR at the secondary level (97:1). This was followed by mathematics (66:1), science (46:1), and language (33:1).

Only 70.6 per cent of schools have teachers for all four basic topics, according to the report.

The state of Andhra Pradesh "was recommended to reconsider the need for teachers, headmaster positions, and rationalise teacher deployment as all teachers are the responsibility of the state," the study states.

The Performance Grading Index (PGI) for schools operated by the central government has been open for data entry since January 2022, but the state has not yet started the entry-filling procedure, according to the report.