The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is currently operating with a significant staffing shortage, with 1625 posts lying vacant across its institutions. This information was shared by the Ministry of Education in the Rajya Sabha on December 17, 2025, raising concerns over the long-term impact on academic and administrative functioning. According to official data, NCERT has a total sanctioned strength of 2844 posts, but only 1219 positions are filled, meaning more than half of the organisation’s workforce positions remain unoccupied.
NCERT Vacancies Across Institutes and Departments
The vacancy crisis spans across NCERT headquarters, regional institutes, and specialised departments. Several units are functioning with less than 50% of their sanctioned strength, affecting both academic delivery and operational support. Before reviewing unit-wise data, it is important to note that these shortages cut across Group A, Group B, and Group C posts, with Group C staff shortages being particularly severe, as they form the backbone of administrative and technical operations.
Units located in Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Mysore, and PSSCIVE also reported major staffing gaps, highlighting a system-wide challenge.
Reserved Category Vacancies Remain High
The data also points to substantial vacancies in reserved category positions. Despite reservation norms, filled posts remain disproportionately low across categories. Before understanding recruitment trends, it is crucial to recognise that these gaps directly affect diversity and representation within NCERT’s workforce.
- Scheduled Caste posts filled: 229
- Scheduled Tribe posts filled: 122
- OBC posts filled: 274
- Persons with Disabilities posts filled: 36
These figures indicate that a large number of sanctioned reserved posts remain vacant across categories.
Heavy Dependence on Contractual Staff
Even as permanent vacancies persist, NCERT has increasingly relied on contractual hiring to manage operations. Data shows that between 655 and 760 contractual staff were hired annually from 2020-21 to 2024-25. The highest contractual engagement occurred in 2022-23 with 760 staff, followed closely by 746 hires in 2021-22. In 2024-25, NCERT engaged 655 contractual employees, continuing the trend of short-term staffing solutions.
Permanent Recruitment Trends at NCERT
Permanent recruitment has been inconsistent over the past 5 years. No appointments were made in 2020-21 and 2021-22. Hiring resumed in 2022-23, and the largest recruitment drive took place in 2023-24, with 96 academic and 194 non-academic appointments. In 2024-25, recruitment dipped again to 48 academic and 21 non-academic staff. Overall, NCERT appointed 229 academic and 216 non-academic employees on a permanent basis during this period. Responding to concerns, the Ministry of Education stated that recruitment is a continuous process and efforts are underway to fill vacancies as per existing rules. However, the data suggests NCERT continues to depend heavily on contractual staff while a large proportion of sanctioned posts remain unfilled.
