Parliamentary Committee

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is facing a significant staff shortage, with more than half of its sanctioned positions lying vacant, while the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has 44 per cent of its posts unfilled, according to a parliamentary committee report. The findings were highlighted in the Tenth Report (Eighteenth Lok Sabha) of the Committee on Estimates for 2026-27, which reviewed budget and policy aspects of affordable and quality education, including the functioning of CBSE. The report was presented in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The panel noted that NCERT has a critical role in shaping India’s school education system and supporting the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The organisation has developed the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCFFS) and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE), besides working on new syllabi and textbooks aligned with these frameworks. However, the committee raised concerns over the scale of vacancies within NCERT. As of October 2025, NCERT had 2,844 sanctioned posts across its various branches, of which only 1,248 were occupied. This left 1,596 positions vacant. The vacancies included 145 academic posts, 131 school teaching positions, 916 ministerial posts and 404 ancillary positions. The committee called for urgent intervention by the Education Ministry, stressing that NCERT’s role as a national-level institution makes adequate staffing essential for the effective functioning of the country’s education system. The panel also highlighted what it described as a major shortage of permanent employees at CBSE. Of the board’s 2,117 sanctioned positions, 933 remained vacant, accounting for around 44 per cent of the total strength. Group C support staff accounted for the largest share of vacancies, with 595 posts unfilled. The committee expressed concern that CBSE’s dependence on temporary and contractual workers could affect the effective management of its operations, particularly sensitive examination-related responsibilities. The panel recommended that CBSE reduce its reliance on temporary personnel for critical examination work and undertake fast-track recruitment to fill vacant posts within a defined timeframe. It warned that the shortage of permanent staff could pose risks to the safety, quality and smooth conduct of major national-level examinations. The report also pointed out that CBSE is a self-financed autonomous organisation and does not receive grant-in-aid from the Ministry of Education. Meanwhile, CBSE’s expanding network has significantly increased the demands on its administrative infrastructure. The number of schools affiliated with the board rose from 3,787 in 1992-93 to 31,234 in 2024-25, as of October 8, 2025. The board currently functions through 25 regional offices and five sub-regional offices. The committee also noted the growing student base, with more than 17 lakh students appearing for Class 12 and over 23.8 lakh students enrolled in Class 10 in 2025. The panel’s observations underline the need to strengthen staffing and administrative capacity at both NCERT and CBSE as India’s school education ecosystem continues to expand. Source: PTI