Telangana teacher absenteeism has emerged as a major problem in government and local body schools, with around 20,000 teachers found away from classrooms on working days, according to Education department records cited by Telangana Today. The figure represents about 15 per cent of the State’s 1,37,011-strong teaching workforce.
The records show that 11,041 teachers were on leave on October 1. Sangareddy reported the highest number of teachers on leave at 597, followed by Rangareddy with 538, Hyderabad with 435 and Medchal-Malkajgiri with 206.
A further 4,160 teachers were recorded as absent without leave on the same day. Vikarabad reported the highest number of such absences at 378, followed by Rangareddy with 260, Suryapet with 236 and Hyderabad with 203.
Attendance data captured through the Facial Recognition System showed the highest overall teacher absenteeism in Rangareddy, with 798 cases. Sangareddy recorded 755 cases, followed by Nalgonda with 751, Nizamabad with 680 and Hyderabad with 638.
The issue has also been identified during district-level inspections. During recent surprise checks at some schools, Hyderabad district collector Dr Priyanka Ala found that 183 teachers had not marked their attendance through the Facial Recognition System and were absent without prior information. The district administration has issued show-cause notices to all of them.
The records indicate that classroom staffing is being affected not only by leave and unauthorised absence, but also by the deployment of teachers to other government duties. As many as 4,530 teachers who are meant to teach in classrooms have been drafted to other departments under on-duty permissions. Approval for on-duty requests involving another 2,189 teachers is pending with the government.
Several teachers are working as coordinators in the Directorate of School Education, while headmasters have also been drafted for such positions. Other teachers are being used for non-teaching work in District Education Officer offices and Samagra Shiksha projects.
The report stated that one reason cited by teachers and headmasters seeking on-duty postings is the preference to work in urban areas or district headquarters. It also reported allegations that some teachers have not been relieved even after their deputation periods ended.
The figures point to a staffing-management problem that extends beyond individual attendance. Schools are losing teaching capacity through a combination of approved leave, unauthorised absence and the diversion of classroom staff to administrative assignments. For students, the immediate effect is reduced teacher availability during working days, although the supplied records do not quantify the impact on instructional hours or learning outcomes.
The Education department’s records, the Facial Recognition System data and the Hyderabad administration’s show-cause notices provide the basis for the reported figures. The next steps are expected to involve action on unauthorised absence, review of on-duty deployments and decisions on the pending requests involving 2,189 teachers.
