Hyderabad: The seven-year long wait after the previous teacher recruitment notification released in 2017 proved futile for most aspiring Urdu teachers, as more than half of posts remain vacant after the latest DSC notification released in 2024 and the subsequent recruitment process. Out of 1,183 posts were reserved for the Urdu medium, only 517 positions were filled, leaving 666 posts unfilled, as they come under reserved category. This has pushed the Urdu medium schools on the verge of closure.

For DSC-2024, there were over 11,080 posts notified for the selection of teachers in educational institutes. For Urdu medium, only 1,183 posts have been notified and out of them, 666 posts have not been filled due to the lack of reserved category candidates in Urdu medium.

Md Abdul Khaled, one of the aspirants, informed Hans India that this has been a recurring situation in Telangana. The problem has not been resolved since 2008, due to which Urdu medium schools are suffering a huge loss, he pointed out.

He along with scores of others has been pressing with the demand that the government ‘de-reserve’ the positions, under the Subordinate Service Rules, 1996. “From 2000 to 2008, during Chandrababu Naidu’s first term and then the Congress term, the remaining posts were converted into general category and jobs were given on the basis of merit. We have documents to prove that in Unified AP the then government de-reserved and filled the posts after conducting examinations in 2008. However, in the following years, the notifications failed to consider that scope,” informed Khaled.

Cutting across party lines, the political party leaders from AIMIM and Congress during the recently held Assembly sessions highlighted the matter. AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi on December 18, 2024, pointed out the historical context of this issue. He recalled that during the tenure of YS Rajasekhar Reddy, he had requested the government to de-reserve the Urdu teacher posts. This step, he explained, could help streamline the recruitment process and resolve the backlog of unfilled positions. “We still stand by our demand to de-reserve the posts. If this issue is not resolved, the backlog will continue to grow, and the recruitment process will continue to be delayed every time new lists are issued. This situation has been ongoing for far too long,” he argued.

MLC Amer Ali Khan in a letter to Legislative Council Chairman also highlighted the matter after several teachers associations brought the issue to his notice during winter sessions. He emphasised that bringing the vacant positions under open category would help sustain the Urdu medium schools, which are already facing a crisis.

Meanwhile, ever since it was clear that the 666 posts would not be filled, a few aspirants also ran a campaign demanding the government convert the unfilled posts to open category. With #JusticeforUrdumedium they questioned, ‘Why are Urdu medium schools left behind?’. The aspirants backed by student groups like SIO also held demonstrations at various locations including Gandhi Bhavan, as part of the campaign. “Urdu medium schools need teachers now! The government should convert unfilled backlog posts to open category from DSC-2012, TRT-2017, and DSC-2024,” demanded Fariya Tabassum, who is running the social media campaign over the issue.