The Assam government faces a significant challenge in its education and health sectors, with a combined total of 34,264 posts currently vacant. This includes 30,032 teacher positions across schools and 4,232 medical posts in government medical colleges and hospitals, as recently informed to the State Assembly by respective ministers.
The substantial number of vacancies highlights a persistent staffing crunch in critical public services, impacting student-teacher ratios, quality of education, and access to healthcare across the state. The government has reiterated its commitment to filling these posts as part of a broader initiative to create two lakh government jobs over the next five years.
What was announced
School Education Minister Ranoj Pegu informed the Assam Legislative Assembly that 30,032 sanctioned teacher posts are currently vacant across government and provincialised schools in the state. This figure represents nearly 20 percent of the total 1,54,078 sanctioned teaching posts at all levels.
Concurrently, Health and Family Welfare Minister Ashok Singhal told the Assembly that 4,232 medical posts are lying vacant in Assam’s 14 government medical colleges and hospitals. These vacancies account for more than 28 percent of the total 14,754 sanctioned posts in these institutions.
Minister Pegu provided a detailed breakdown of the teacher vacancies, noting 11,662 posts in lower primary schools, 7,139 in upper primary schools, and 11,231 in secondary and higher secondary schools. For the medical sector, Minister Singhal specified that 297 of the vacant posts are teaching positions, including professors, associate professors, and assistant professors in medical colleges.
Why it matters
The large number of vacant positions has significant implications for Assam’s public services. In the education sector, a shortage of over 30,000 teachers directly affects the quality of instruction and the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR). Minister Pegu acknowledged that 7,948 schools in Assam do not adhere to the mandatory 30:1 pupil-teacher ratio, with some even operating as single-teacher schools. This situation can lead to increased workload for existing teachers and hinder effective learning outcomes for students, particularly in rural and remote areas.
In the health sector, over 4,200 vacant medical posts, including specialist positions, strain the existing healthcare infrastructure and personnel. Assam’s government medical facilities collectively treat approximately 15,205 patients daily, with major institutions like Gauhati Medical College and Hospital seeing 3,246 patients each day. The shortage of doctors, especially super-speciality professionals, impacts the delivery of advanced medical care and exacerbates public health challenges. Health Minister Singhal pointed out that despite available funding, finding doctors willing to work in government facilities, particularly super-specialists, remains a challenge.
Background
The issue of government job vacancies has been a recurring concern in Assam, prompting the state government to launch ambitious employment generation initiatives. In the 2026-27 state Budget, Finance Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah announced the “Nijuktir Natun Diganta” initiative, a commitment to create two lakh employment opportunities across the public sector ecosystem over the next five years. This includes various government departments, universities, medical colleges, statutory bodies, and state-owned companies.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has consistently reiterated the government’s resolve to address unemployment and fill vacant posts. In 2024, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu had announced plans to recruit 9,000 new teachers, emphasising proficiency in local languages and moving away from contractual appointments. Subsequently, in October 2025, the Directorate of Elementary Education (DEE) Assam launched a special recruitment drive for 10,673 Lower Primary and Upper Primary Teacher positions, specifically targeting contractual and state pool teachers under Samagra Shiksha Assam (SSA) to regularise their services.
For the health sector, the government has been actively working to expand medical education infrastructure. Chief Minister Sarma announced in June 2026 that Assam aims to establish 30 medical colleges by 2029, a significant increase from the existing 14 institutions. This expansion is intended to address the long-term shortage of medical professionals by increasing the annual MBBS seat capacity, which currently stands at 1,825 across the 14 medical colleges.
Despite these efforts, the persistence of a large number of vacancies indicates the scale of the challenge. The government has acknowledged that single-teacher schools are a “big problem” and is implementing a three-pronged strategy for teacher deployment: regular recruitment, intra-district rationalisation, and the merger or amalgamation of schools to optimise teacher strength.
Key details
The current vacancy figures presented in the State Assembly are as follows:
- Total Teacher Vacancies: 30,032
- Breakdown of Teacher Vacancies:
- Lower Primary Schools: 11,662
- Upper Primary Schools: 7,139
- Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools: 11,231
- Total Medical Vacancies: 4,232
- Breakdown of Medical Vacancies:
- Teaching Posts (Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors): 297
The government’s commitment to fill these positions falls under the larger “Mission 2 Lakh Govt Jobs” initiative, aiming for two lakh recruitments over the next five years.
Reactions
“Single-teacher schools are a big problem for us. We are trying not to make a school run by a single teacher,” Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said in the Assembly, addressing concerns raised by AIUDF MLA Badruddin Ajmal regarding declining enrolment in such schools.
“It’s not that the government doesn’t have money to employ them, but first we have to find such super-speciality doctors. We don’t have many to fill these vacancies. The ones there are, they don’t want to take up work in government establishments,” Health Minister Ashok Singhal explained, highlighting the challenges in recruiting specialist doctors.
What’s next
The Assam government is actively compiling vacancy lists from various departments, including education and health, as part of its “Mission 2 Lakh Govt Jobs” initiative. A dedicated task force under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary has been constituted to prepare a comprehensive roadmap for these recruitments. Finance Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah stated that this process would also facilitate timely promotions for existing employees, thereby creating more vacancies at the base level for fresh recruitment.
For the education sector, Minister Pegu assured the Assembly that the vacant teaching posts “will be filled up in the coming period.” The government’s strategy includes regular recruitment, intra-district rationalisation of teachers, and the merger or amalgamation of schools to ensure optimal teacher deployment.
In healthcare, the focus remains on expanding medical education, with 10 new medical colleges and hospitals currently under construction, and facilities at Bongaigaon, Biswanath, and Charaideo expected to be completed soon. Health Minister Singhal emphasised that increasing the number of medical colleges and nursing institutes is the only sustainable solution to the state’s doctor shortage.
Sources & References
Source: Assam Tribune and Guwahati Plus reports on Assembly statements (July 2026)