Munish sood
Shimla
The Himachal Pradesh government will complete the appointment of teachers in all 147 government schools being brought under the CBSE system by September 30, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu told the state Assembly on Wednesday.
Replying to questions during Question Hour in the ongoing Monsoon Session, the Chief Minister said teacher appointments were being made on the basis of prescribed eligibility criteria and merit, with the selection merit reportedly going up to 80 per cent. He said postings would be made immediately after the results of the recruitment process are declared.
Sukhu also indicated that the government would take a fresh look at the future of CBSE teachers, including their job continuity, in due course. The issue of their regularisation, however, has not been decided at present.
The government has sanctioned more than 6,000 teacher posts for the 147 CBSE schools. Education Minister Rohit Thakur said the appointments would initially be made under a scheme-based arrangement, with teachers receiving a monthly honorarium of ₹30,000. There is currently no decision to regularise them after two years, he said, adding that the matter could be considered positively in the future.
According to the Education Minister, 3,830 teachers are presently available in the 147 schools, while 2,183 posts remain vacant. These vacancies are expected to be filled through the selection commission within a month. Computer teachers will also be accommodated in the CBSE schools.
Government plans 100 more CBSE schools
The government has also announced plans to bring another 100 government schools under the CBSE system. Sukhu said the first phase would focus on making all 147 existing CBSE schools fully functional before expanding the programme further.
The government has earmarked ₹80 crore for setting up computer laboratories in the 147 schools. Sukhu said the CBSE initiative was aimed at improving the quality of education in government schools and reversing the decline in student enrolment.
Explaining the rationale behind the decision, the Chief Minister said the government had observed a growing gap between government and private schools, particularly in terms of English-medium education. He said the CBSE model was being introduced to make government schools more competitive and attractive to parents.
The government claims that enrolment in the schools brought under the CBSE system has increased by around 24,000 students.
BJP questions salaries, recruitment and school selection
BJP MLA Sudhir Sharma questioned the provision under which CBSE teachers would receive salaries for only 10 months and sought clarification on whether they would eventually be paid for all 12 months. He also sought clarity on their long-term employment prospects and possible regularisation.
Bharmaur MLA Dr Janak Raj stressed that schools following the CBSE pattern must meet all prescribed requirements and raised the issue of opening a CBSE school in Bharmaur. The Education Minister said the 147 selected schools had met the prescribed criteria, while remaining deficiencies would also be addressed.
BJP MLA Randhir Sharma questioned the basis for selecting the 147 schools and highlighted disparities between education blocks, with some allegedly having no CBSE-pattern government school. He also asked whether legislators had been consulted during the selection process and whether more schools would subsequently be brought under the CBSE system.
Former Education Minister and BJP MLA Vipin Singh Parmar raised concerns over the expansion of CBSE schools and its possible financial impact on the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education. He also sought clarity on funding, teacher appointments and the possibility of students shifting away from government schools after the transition.
Government says focus is quality education
Responding to the concerns, Education Minister Rohit Thakur said the government was focusing on improving the quality of education in government schools at a time when enrolment was declining.
He said Himachal Pradesh has 1,988 schools affiliated with the state school education board and maintained that the government’s priority was to strengthen the overall quality of schooling rather than merely increase enrolment.
The minister cited the state’s performance in the National Achievement Survey, stating that Himachal Pradesh ranked third among 28 states. He also referred to the state’s literacy rate of 99.30 per cent.
Sukhu said the government wanted to build an education system that would provide students educated in Himachal Pradesh with better learning opportunities and stronger academic foundations.
He said the government was targeting a major improvement in school education over the next five years. A CBSE school will also be opened in the assembly constituency represented by Randhir Sharma, the Chief Minister said.
The government maintains that the CBSE expansion is intended to address declining enrolment, improve educational standards and make government schools more competitive, while the opposition has raised questions over teacher employment security, funding and the long-term implications for the state education board.
