Jharkhand HC Expresses Dissatisfaction With State On Timeline To Fill 15K Graduate School Teacher Posts Lying Vacant For Three Years

Expressing dissatisfaction with the State on the recruitment timeline for Graduate trained school teachers to teach Classes 6 to 8 in government schools, the Jharkhand High Court has directed reduction in timeline to bare minimum ensuring that in the present academic year teachers get appointed to the posts lying vacant for three years. 

A division bench comprising Chief Justice M. S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Rajesh Shankar passed the direction in the ongoing 2024 public interest litigation filed by economist Dr. Jean Dreze.

It said:

“We are not satisfied about the time line indicated for filling up 15,001 posts of Graduate Trained Teachers for Class-6 to 8 indicated in the affidavit filed by the Joint Secretary of the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission. We direct that the time line be reduced to the bare minimum so that in this Academic Year 2025-2026, Teachers in subjects of Maths, Science Social Science and language get appointed and take classes so that the students can learn the said subjects since admittedly for the last three years, these posts have been lying vacant". 

The above development follows the affidavit filed by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC), which had earlier informed the court that the final result for recruitment of 26,001 assistant teachers in government schools–including intermediate and graduate trained teachers–will begin being published from August 2025 and conclude by second week of January 2026, depending on category and subject.

The JSSC in its counter affidavit has said that for Intermediate Trained teachers for teaching Classes 1-5, results will be published by second week of January 2026.

Meanwhile for Graduate Trained teachers for teaching Classes 6-8, the results for post of Maths & Science teacher will be published by first week August 2025 and for post of Social Science teacher the results will be published by fourth week of September 2025.

In the same category–Graduate Trained teachers for teaching Classes 6 to 8–the results for post of Language Teacher will be published by first week of November 2025.

The PIL submitted that as per data of the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2021–22, over 8,000 government-run primary schools in Jharkhand are currently operated by a single teacher. The petition alleged gross non-compliance by the state with the staffing norms laid out under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, the implementation deadline for which has long expired.

The matter is next listed on April 23, for "indicating fresh time line". 

Case Title: Dr. Jean Dreze and another Versus The State of Jharkhand and others