Guwahati, Assam — The Assam School Education Department currently faces a significant shortage of 30,032 teacher posts across its primary, secondary, and higher secondary schools, School Education Minister Ranoj Pegu informed the state assembly on Thursday. These vacancies represent nearly 20% of the total 1,54,078 sanctioned teacher posts in Assam’s schools.
The Assam government plans to fill these substantial vacancies as part of its ambitious ‘2 lakh jobs‘ initiative, aiming to provide employment opportunities to two lakh youths across various government departments over the next five years.
What was announced
School Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, in a written reply to a query by Leader of Opposition Wajed Ali Choudhury during the Assembly session on Thursday, revealed the precise number of vacant teaching positions. He stated that a total of 30,032 sanctioned teaching posts are currently unfilled.
Delving into the specifics, Pegu said that 18,801 vacancies are in primary schools, comprising 11,662 posts in lower primary and 7,139 posts in upper primary schools. Additionally, 11,231 sanctioned teaching posts are lying vacant in secondary and higher secondary schools across the state.
The minister also acknowledged that 7,948 of Assam’s 44,103 state-run schools, encompassing all levels from lower primary to higher secondary, do not adhere to the mandatory 30:1 pupil-teacher ratio.
Why it matters
The significant number of teacher vacancies directly impacts the quality of education and the pupil-teacher ratio in thousands of schools, particularly in rural and remote areas.
The announcement underscores the government’s commitment to addressing a long-standing issue of teacher shortages, which has been a persistent challenge for Assam’s education system. Filling these positions is crucial for improving educational outcomes and ensuring equitable access to quality learning for all students.
For thousands of unemployed youths in Assam, this recruitment drive under the ‘2 lakh jobs’ initiative represents a major opportunity for stable government employment. The government aims to strengthen public service delivery and generate employment opportunities for the state’s youth.
Background
Teacher shortages have been a recurring concern in Assam’s education sector for several years. In September 2023, Minister Pegu had informed the assembly that over 15,000 teaching positions at the school level and 1,300 in colleges and universities were vacant. At that time, 15,752 teaching posts were unfilled in schools, along with 2,830 non-teaching positions.
In December 2023, the Directorate of Secondary Education initiated a recruitment process for 14,223 teacher positions, including 1,424 post-graduate teacher roles and 7,249 graduate teacher positions. Concurrently, the Directorate of Elementary Education advertised 3,800 Assistant Teacher posts for Lower Primary schools and 1,750 posts for Assistant Teachers, Science Teachers, and Hindi Teachers for Upper Primary schools.
The current government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, launched “Mission 2 Lakh Govt Jobs” in May 2026, fulfilling an electoral promise to create two lakh government jobs over five years. A task force, headed by the Chief Secretary, was constituted to identify vacancies, streamline recruitment, and prepare a roadmap for this ambitious drive.
The state budget for 2025-26 allocated 17.8% of its total expenditure to the education sector, which is higher than the national average, reflecting the government’s focus on improving education. In March 2026, the government distributed appointment letters for 5,690 jobs in the education sector, bringing the total government jobs provided to 1,64,359. Chief Minister Sarma then announced plans to recruit another 65,000 teachers in the next five years.
The issue of single-teacher schools has also been highlighted, with 2,670 primary schools still functioning with only one teacher as of February 2026, despite efforts to address this. In July 2026, it was reported that 22 primary schools in the Binnakandi constituency alone were operating with a single teacher.
Key details
The 30,032 teacher vacancies are distributed across different educational levels:
- Primary Schools: 18,801 vacancies
- Lower Primary Schools: 11,662 vacancies
- Upper Primary Schools: 7,139 vacancies
- Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools: 11,231 vacancies
The total sanctioned teacher posts across all levels of schools in Assam stand at 1,54,078.
The government’s strategy to strengthen teacher deployment includes regular recruitment, intra-district rationalisation, and the merger or amalgamation of schools to enhance teacher strength in educational institutions.
Reactions
“Single-teacher schools are a big problem for us. We are trying not to make a school run by a single teacher. The PTR in Assam is good in the entire India scenario,” School Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said in the Assembly, addressing concerns raised by AIUDF MLA Badruddin Ajmal regarding low enrolment due to single-teacher schools.
“We had promised to provide one lakh government jobs. Today we have already crossed that figure and provided over 1.64 lakh appointments,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in March 2026, reiterating the government’s commitment to employment generation. “In the next five years, we aim to recruit another 65,000 teachers so that every child in Assam receives quality education.”
What’s next
The School Education Department is currently preparing vacancy lists from schools to facilitate the recruitment process under the government’s ‘2 lakh jobs’ initiative. Minister Pegu assured the Assembly that these vacant posts will be filled in the coming period.
A high-level task force, constituted under the Chief Secretary, is working on a comprehensive roadmap for recruitment across various government departments, including education. This task force is expected to submit its report within three months of its formation in May 2026.