HYDERABAD: A shortage of regular teachers, coupled with inadequate hostel and transport facilities, is posing a challenge to Telangana Model Schools, with more than 51,000 seats remaining vacant in the current academic year.
According to data, the 194 Model Schools have a sanctioned capacity of 1,59,080 seats for 2026-27. However, only around 1,07,782 students have enrolled, leaving 51,298 seats vacant. The previous academic year too saw around 50,718 vacant seats, indicating a continuing decline in enrolment.
Teachers attribute the trend partly to vacancies in teaching posts. Of the sanctioned strength of around 3,880 teaching posts, 1,080 remain vacant, including approximately 97 Principal, 560 Post Graduate Teacher (PGT) and 423 Trained Graduate Teacher (TGT) posts.
Several teachers said the staff shortage was beginning to affect more than classroom management. With a substantial number of regular posts vacant, existing teachers are being forced to take additional classes, leaving limited scope for remedial instruction, individual attention, laboratory work and other academic activities.
“Teachers hired on an hourly basis are being used to manage the shortage, but this cannot be a permanent arrangement. Regular recruitment is required to ensure continuity in teaching,” said B Kondaiah, State President of the Telangana State Model School Teachers Federation (TSMSTF).
The shortage is also becoming a factor for parents while choosing schools, particularly in rural areas where Model Schools were established to provide English-medium education. Teachers, however, said the decline in enrolment had multiple reasons, including the expansion of residential Gurukul institutions that provide students with accommodation, food and other facilities.
Several Model Schools, particularly those in rural and interior areas, do not have comparable residential infrastructure, Kondaiah said.
The absence of adequate hostel facilities, especially for boys, and limited transport options are also making access difficult for students travelling from distant villages. The combination of inadequate facilities and staff shortages has affected parents’ confidence in the schools and, in turn, enrolment, said another teacher who did not wish to be named.
The concerns come at a time when several proposals for restructuring Model Schools are being discussed, including changes in admissions, their conversion or upgradation as Telangana Public Schools, introduction of the CBSE curriculum and establishment of Centres of Excellence.
Teachers said they were not opposed to the proposed reforms but wanted the government to first address vacancies and basic infrastructure. Merely changing the structure or curriculum, they said, would not resolve the problems faced by the schools.
Staffing, infrastructure, hostels and transport also need attention.
Model Schools, which provide English-medium education in rural areas, also offer Intermediate courses such as MPC and BiPC in several institutions. Teachers said strengthening these facilities and filling vacancies could help improve enrolment and enable the schools to fulfil the purpose for which they were established.