More than 15,000 teaching posts at the school level and 1,300 in colleges and universities are lying vacant in Assam, Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said in the assembly on Thursday.

He also said the gross enrolment ratio (GER) at the higher secondary level has been on a downward trend compared to the figures at the elementary level in 2021-22.

Replying to a question by Congress MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed, Pegu said a total of 15,752 teaching posts are lying vacant in different schools.

A total of 2,830 non-teaching posts are also yet to be filled in schools, he said.

In reply to a question by AIUDF’s Rafiqul Islam, Pegu said in provincialised high schools and higher secondary schools, 1,686 posts of head teacher, 320 posts of principals and 499 posts of vice-principals are lying vacant.

The minister, in response to another query by CPI(M) legislator Manoranjan Talukdar, said 860 posts of assistant professors are lying vacant in different colleges and 465 teaching posts in 12 universities of the state.

Pegu, replying to a question by Congress MLA Bharat Chandra Narah, said as per Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2021-22 data, the GER in elementary education in Assam was 109.9 per cent.

It showed that the GER in secondary education for the same period was 74.5 per cent and in higher secondary education, it was 40.1 per cent.

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