Ministers of the ruling party have made several statements about India's aspiration to become a ‘Vishwa Guru’ (World Leader). Minister Bhagwanth Khuba emphasized that India, historically a global teacher, is on track to reclaim this position by 2047. Other leaders, including Minister Rajnath Singh and Governor R.N. Ravi, have expressed similar views. Pralhad Joshi said that - vital role of teachers in achieving this vision.

In the past, India was a major center of education, not only because of renowned universities like Takshashila, Nalanda, Vikramashila, Valabhi, Somapura Mahavihara, and Pushpagiri, but also because of great teachers like Chanakya, Panini, Patanjali, Gautama Buddha, Mahavira, Shankaracharya, Vashishtha, Vyasa, Dronacharya, and Kapila.

Today, as India aspires to become the Vishwaguru, I want to highlight the vacant posts of the teachers in our universities and academic institutions on this Teachers' Day.

In India, Teacher's Day is celebrated on September 5th to honor the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a distinguished teacher, philosopher, and the second President of India. At IIT Madras's first convocation, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan awarded degrees to the graduating class. The IIT Madras website notes the fierce competition among southern states—Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madras, and Kerala—to host the institute. When a meeting of the four Chief Ministers failed to reach a consensus, the decision was deferred to experts, who recommended Madras. Currently, IIT Madras has 396 vacant faculty positions while 604 are field, making for nearly 33% of posts unfilled, according to a government response to the Rajya Sabha on March 16, 2022.

Jawaharlal Nehru, a secular leader committed to separating religion and politics, described IITs as "temples of modern technological learning," created to meet the nation's needs. The first IIT was established in Kharagpur in May 1950 at the site of the Hijli Detention Camp, where the British had imprisoned political prisoners. The institution was initially named the "Indian Institute of Technology" and was formally inaugurated on August 18, 1951. According to the same government response to parliament, IIT Kharagpur has over 50% of its faculty positions vacant, with 815 out unfilled while 711 positions are filled.

The Standing Committee of Parliament's report, tabled in March 2023, reveals that 32% of faculty positions in Central universities, 39% in IITs, and 30% in IIMs are currently vacant.

Pushpagiri, located in Odisha, India, was an esteemed Buddhist university and a major center of learning from the 8th to 12th centuries CE, known for its contributions to Buddhist scholarship. Currently, the Central University of Odisha has 23 sanctioned professor positions, all of which are vacant, and 43 associate professor positions, with only 1 filled, according to an RTI reply from the UGC dated November 2022.

Doctor Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya Sagar, formerly the University of Saugor, was founded on July 18, 1946, by Dr. Sir Hari Singh Gour with his personal savings of the rupee two crores, making it the largest university in Madhya Pradesh. It is notable for being funded entirely by one individual. Currently, 56% of faculty positions are vacant there. Similarly, Banaras Hindu University, one of India's oldest modern universities, has 25% of its faculty positions vacant, while the University of Delhi has 52% of its positions unfilled as per the Same RTI Reply. 

Standing committee report tables in parliament march 2023 repeat the same story for the faculty position in the AIIMS.  The Committee notes that in AIIMS Patna and Raipur, 143 faculty posts out of a sanctioned strength of 305 are vacant, implying that approximately 47% of the posts in these two institutes are unfilled. In AIIMS Jodhpur, 227 faculty posts are filled, which is the highest among all new AIIMS. At AIIMS Patna, 2202 out of 3884 sanctioned non-faculty posts are vacant, leading to a vacancy rate of approximately 57%. AIIMS Jodhpur, with 1516 non-faculty vacancies, fares slightly better among the six AIIMS. 

The Committee expresses serious concern over the shortage of both faculty and non-faculty positions in these institutes and is dismayed by the acute shortage of Professors, Additional Professors, Associate Professors, and Assistant Professors. It strongly recommends that the Ministry take immediate action to improve the management of human resources in these institutes.

Standing committee report which was tabled in parliament in February 2024 observed the following - “According to the reply of the Union Health Minister in Rajya Sabha in August 2023, about 5,527 faculty positions in all AIIMS have been sanctioned, of which, 2,161 are vacant currently. AIIMS, New Delhi which is a premier institute also faces severe faculty crunch with almost 347 faculty positions lying vacant and this accounts for almost 28% of the total sanctioned strength”

The Webatie of the The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) says that it is tasked to assist and advise the Central and State Governments on policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in school education. The major objectives of NCERT and its constituent units are to: undertake, promote and coordinate research in areas related to school education; prepare and publish model textbooks, supplementary material, newsletters, journals and develop educational kits, multimedia digital materials, etc. 

But as per the Government reply to the parliament on the 16th march 2023, more than 50% of the Academic posts in the NCERT are vacant !

These statistics reveal the extent of vacant teaching positions in the country’s higher education institutions, focusing on the number of available posts. However, a more pressing issue is the quality of education. Private schools and colleges, driven by profit rather than educational goals, often provide low wages and exploitative working conditions for teachers. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) by Pratham highlights that 50% of Class V students cannot read Class 2 texts, emphasizing student performance. But what about the teachers? Are there enough qualified teachers, and are they teaching regularly?

India's dream of becoming a Vishwaguru will be realized when the media bestows the title of Chanakya upon teachers rather than politicians. After all, Chanakya was a teacher himself!