Itifaq Lone
KARGIL: The education sector in Ladakh Union Territory (UT) has been facing a severe shortage of teachers, with several schools grappling with vacant positions. This shortage has led to understaffed schools, affecting the quality of education and hindering the overall development of students.
Several times students along with their parents were seen raising their voice against the same and demanding adequate teaching staff in the schools.
The Ladakh UT has 832 government run education institutions including 533 schools in Kargil and 299 in Leh district with the grand total enrolment of 26868 students. The 832 educational institutions include 331 Pre Primary, Primary, 378 Upper Primary, 84 Secondary Schools, and 39 Higher Secondary Schools in the twin districts of Ladakh. However, several schools lack teachers for various subjects and the government and the concerned education department has failed to address the issue. As per the reports, urgent measures need to be taken to address the various issues and ensure that every child in Ladakh UT receives a quality education.
One of Kargil residents said that across the UT, including Leh and Kargil, several schools are struggling to fill vacant teaching positions. The shortage of teachers is particularly acute in remote and far-flung areas, where the lack of infrastructure and limited access to resources already pose challenges to education. “The absence of qualified teachers further compounds these difficulties, leaving students deprived of the guidance and support they need to excel academically,” he asserted.
The reasons for the shortage of teachers in Ladakh UT are multifaceted, he said and added that the limited availability of basic amenities and the absence of proper facilities act as deterrents for potential candidates. The lack of professional development programs in these areas is also discouraging.
Understaffed schools struggle to maintain an adequate student-teacher ratio, resulting in compromised individual attention and personalized guidance for students, said a college pass out, and added that this hampers their overall academic performance and affects their ability to compete at higher levels. “The lack of subject-specific teachers limits students’ exposure to specialized knowledge and inhibits their holistic development,” he said.
He suggested that the UT administration must take immediate action, and efforts should be made to attract qualified teachers to the region.
Apart from this, he said the government should invest in training and capacity-building programs for existing teachers in the region that could help enhance their teaching skills and update their knowledge in line with the evolving educational landscape. “By empowering local teachers, the dependence on external recruitment can be reduced, ensuring a sustainable solution to the shortage of teachers in the long run,” he concluded.
