• By
• Comments 0
• 29 Mar 2026

2,038 lecturer posts among 4,400 vacancies in J&K: Govt

Aatif Qayoom

Srinagar, Mar 28: The government of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday informed the Legislative Assembly that 4,400 teacher and lecturer posts are lying vacant across the Union Territory, highlighting a significant shortage of teaching staff in schools.

As per the details placed in the House, 2,038 lecturer posts are vacant in the Kashmir division alone. Kupwara district has the highest number with 421 vacancies.

Anantnag follows with 388 vacant posts, while Baramulla has 347. Pulwama reports 179 vacancies, Bandipora 169, and Budgam 167. Kulgam has 127 vacant posts, Ganderbal 99, while Srinagar and Shopian stand at 79 and 62 respectively.

The situation in the Jammu division is also concerning. The government said 2,441 posts are lying vacant there. Doda tops the list with 385 vacancies, followed by Rajouri with 341 and Kathua with 317.

Udhampur has 286 vacancies, Reasi 245, and Jammu district 243. Poonch reports 198 vacancies, Ramban 166, Kishtwar 163, while Samba has the lowest at 97.

The government said these figures include both existing vacancies and posts likely to fall vacant. It also informed that some of these posts are being used to absorb Rehbar-e-Taleem teachers into regular positions under earlier orders.

Replying to a question in the Assembly, the government admitted that recruitment in some categories was affected due to earlier decisions on post conversion. However, it said the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission has started the selection process for lecturer posts in several subjects.

Selections have already been finalised for nine subjects, including Kashmiri, Dogri, Statistics, Punjabi, Music, Geography, History, Arabic and Geology.

Around 30 candidates have been identified so far, and the process for other subjects is ongoing.

To manage the shortage, the School Education Department has started assigning eligible postgraduate teachers as in-charge lecturers. Officials said such arrangements have already been made in subjects like Geography, Political Science and Dogri.

The government ruled out hiring guest lecturers. Instead, it said cluster resource coordinators have been deployed for the 2025 and 2026 academic sessions to support schools facing staff shortages.