CHENNAI: The vacancy list released by the Directorate of Elementary Education ahead of transfer counselling for secondary grade teachers (SGTs) has revealed 4,074 vacancies across 3,692 government elementary schools in Tamil Nadu, with the highest concentration in the northern and western districts. Of the total vacancies, 3,418 schools have one vacancy each, 224 schools have two vacancies and 50 schools have three vacancies.
Krishnagiri has emerged as the worst-affected district with 440 vacancies in 406 schools. Tiruvannamalai follows with 358 vacancies in 316 schools, while Tiruppur has 275 vacancies in 210 schools. Dharmapuri has 230 vacancies across 223 schools and Pudukkottai 225 vacancies in 220 schools. Together, these five districts account for more than 1,500 vacancies, nearly 38% of the state’s total SGT vacancies.
A regional analysis shows North TN accounts for the highest number of vacancies at 1,516, followed by West TN with 1,444. The central and delta districts together have 807 vacancies, while the southern districts account for only 307. Combined, the northern and western regions account for 2,960 vacancies.
School education department officials, however, said the actual number of vacant SGT posts is closer to 2,000, as many vacancies are expected to be filled through the redeployment of surplus teachers. They said the redeployment process, along with promotions, has been stalled since 2021 because of litigation relating to Teacher Eligibility Test (TET). The recent transfer counselling process was also halted midway owing to it.
According to officials, the department is also grappling with around 1,800 vacancies for middle school headmasters, 1,500 for primary school headmasters and another 1,500 for BT teachers. Together with the SGT vacancies, the elementary education sector has around 7,000 vacant posts.
Officials said the deadlock stems from litigation over promotions. Teachers appointed before the Right to Education Act came into force in 2010 have sought exemption from clearing TET for promotions. However, both the Madras HC and the Supreme Court have ruled that passing TET is mandatory. Although the Teachers Recruitment Board recently conducted the examination, candidates again approached the court seeking weightage marks. The court subsequently stayed the publication of results.
Teachers’ associations said the shortage is being felt most acutely in small rural schools. According to the latest UDISE+ report, Tamil Nadu has 3,957 single-teacher schools, while several thousand others function with only two or three teachers. In such schools, even one vacancy can leave classes unattended or force teachers to handle multiple grades at the same time.
