Photo Courtesy: nenow
Agartala: The Tripura High Court slapped down state bureaucrats this week. Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Biswajit Palit ordered an immediate recruitment drive for 1,116 Post Graduate Teacher vacancies. These jobs opened up after teachers retired, resigned, died, or got fired. The court flatly rejected the School Education Department’s plan to recreate these posts before hiring, calling the move a waste of time.
Students are suffering. The bench noted a massive shortage of educators and that a significant portion of the academic year is already gone. Beyond the PGT roles, the state sits on 2,193 vacant Graduate Teacher positions. Authorities previously tried to limit recruitment to just 230 of those spots. The court challenged that logic. It demanded the government decide how to fill those thousands of vacancies by the next hearing on September 21.
Recruitment for 700 newly created GT posts remains stalled despite a selection test held on February 14, 2026. The judges brought the Chairman of the Teachers’ Recruitment Board into the case as a respondent. The board must finish this process fast. They need to file an affidavit explaining their progress before the next court date.
Administrative ranks are also thinning out. The court identified 162 empty Headmaster posts and 100 Assistant Headmaster vacancies in higher secondary schools. High schools have another 304 Headmaster slots sitting empty. The court ordered the state to fill these roles according to official rules. During the session, the bench stated, "The bench observed that vacancies arising from retirement, resignation, death or termination do not require the posts to be recreated and termed the proposed exercise unnecessary." The fight for classrooms continues.
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