‘Hourly-Based Teachers’ Temporary Measure, 15,000 Regular Teacher Posts in Process: Education Minister

Shimla, December 17: Education Minister Rohit Thakur clarified today that the recruitment of hourly-based teachers is a temporary solution aimed at addressing the absence of regular subject teachers during their leave. He explained that these teachers will be engaged on a period basis, working for a maximum of ten days per month, ensuring that students’ education is not disrupted.

Thakur assured that this arrangement will not interfere with the ongoing recruitment process for regular teachers in the Education Department. He emphasized that the state government is committed to filling teaching vacancies through a direct recruitment process and has already appointed over 3,000 teachers out of 15,000 planned recruitments. The recruitment process is ongoing, with the remaining posts being filled progressively.

The Minister criticized the opposition for raising unnecessary concerns about teacher recruitment, pointing out that during their tenure, no recruitment was carried out, which severely affected the quality of education and academic standards in the state. He also accused former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur of announcing new educational institutions without ensuring proper budget allocation or staff, with the goal of gaining political advantage during elections.

Thakur further highlighted that under the previous government, Himachal Pradesh’s education standards had deteriorated, causing the state to drop to 21st position nationally. He stated that Jai Ram Thakur owed an apology to the people for his government’s policies that harmed the education sector.

The current Congress government, Thakur assured, is firmly committed to improving education quality. As part of this, the government is recruiting hourly-based teachers until regular recruitment is finalized, after which the need for such temporary arrangements will end. He also pointed out that the Congress government had filled vacant posts through promotions, a move the previous BJP government failed to undertake, resulting in considerable setbacks to students’ education.