The state government has decided to stop permissions for new DEd colleges in the state, as they are churning out more teachers than the jobs available.
In a resolution taken earlier this month, the education ministry had pointed out that the training colleges were only adding to the number of unemployed teachers, passing every year.
According to statistics available from the ministry as well as the employment bureau, there were nearly 45,000 unemployed teachers in the state in 2011, while there were only 1,500 vacancies.
In a bid to provide constructive employment to the unemployed teachers, the state government and education ministry had started the shikshan sevak or temporary teacher scheme. However, with huge number of candidates passing from the over 110 DEd colleges in the state, the posts were soon filled up. In fact, the number of teachers applying for the post of shikshan sevaks was so high that the government had to introduce an entrance and eligibility test for the job. “As there is a paucity of permanent jobs, aspirants see the job of a shikshan sevak as a reprieve. However, with an increase in the number of colleges, the number of unemployed teachers has only gone up. Hence, the decision of the ministry to stop issuing permissions is a good move to check unemployment in the education sector,” said J.M. Abhyankar, former chairman of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. The gravity of the situation can also be gauged from the fact that the student wing of the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena has been holding a continuous campaign to get the government to accommodate as many unemployed teachers.