Guwahati, Feb 9 (PTI) Around 28,000 teachers will soon be appointed on contractual basis and 12,800 teachers on a permanent basis, Assam Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarmah today said. At present there are 90,000 posts of teachers lying vacant in the state and initially 40,800 teachers would be appointed by May this year, Sarmah told reporters. He pointed out that the Supreme Court's verdict vacating the ban imposed by Gauhati High Court on teachers recruitment in the state yesterday has facilitated this. The process of appointment of contractual teachers will begin from February 15 and the process is expected to be completed before the Bihu festival in April. The process of appointment of permanent basis will begin thereafter and the entire process was expected to be completed by May 15 this year. The apex court bench headed by Justice Deepak Verma had yesterday set aside the High Court order of March 5, 2010 on a petition filed by the Assam government contending that the ban was causing difficulties in the running of elementary schools to fulfill the mandate of compulsory education under the Right to Education Act. Around 52,000 candidates have qualified in the first-ever Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) conducted by the state government in January this year.
