Odisha Moves to Fill 1,650+ School Posts and Add 1,342 New Teaching Positions

26 Sep 2026, 08:46 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

Bhubaneswar: Classroom staffing across Odisha’s public and assisted educational network is facing substantial deficits, spanning secondary tiers, upgraded institutions, and specialized vocational tracks. In response, state authorities have mobilized recruitment drives through multiple recruitment commissions while sanctioning fresh posts to stabilize everyday instruction.

The scale of the staffing gaps was formally presented to the Odisha Legislative Assembly on Friday by School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond. Responding in writing to an inquiry tabled by Jatani legislator Bibhuti Bhushan Balabantaray, Gond tabled a comprehensive review of operational vacancies covering higher secondary schools, secondary training schools, and high schools across the state.

At the general secondary level, recruitment agencies are handling a heavy caseload. State authorities are moving to recruit 1,652 instructors in fully aided high schools, alongside active initiatives to clear pending vacancies in government high schools.

Higher secondary institutions reflect a similar strain. Out of 1,734 sanctioned faculty positions in government and government-upgraded higher secondary institutions, 358 remain unfilled. Minister Gond confirmed that hiring for these open positions is progressing through the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC). Parallel to this, the administration is processing the formal creation of 1,342 additional teaching positions designated for 193 newly upgraded higher secondary schools.

The human-resource deficit is also evident across vocational streams. In the 230 government vocational higher secondary schools administered by the Directorate of Higher Secondary Education, shortfalls have impacted both academic and clerical benches. These campuses report 70 vacant junior lecturer posts, 116 unfilled senior clerk positions, 143 junior clerk vacancies, and 168 unoccupied peon posts.

In the non-governmental aided sector, the administration has engaged both formal recruitment pipelines and stopgap hiring mechanisms. Teaching posts remain unfilled across 26 fully aided private higher secondary institutions, where recruitment drives are proceeding under the oversight of the State Selection Board (SSB).

Meanwhile, among the 499 block-grant-aided higher secondary institutions classified under the 662 category, 302 of the 3,116 sanctioned lecturer positions stand vacant. To avoid interruptions in regular coursework while substantive recruitment moves forward, the department has placed guest lecturers across the affected classrooms.