Panaji: Goa Staff Selection Commission (SSC) filled 83% of govt primary teacher vacancies and recommended 325 candidates to the education department. A senior officer said the remaining posts could not be filled due to a shortage of OBC and EWS candidates.The SSC had advertised 390 primary teacher posts, including Konkani and Marathi. It received 1,626 applications for Marathi and 437 for Konkani. Of 2,063 applicants overall, about 700 (around 34%) cleared the computer-based recruitment test (CBRT). Candidates up to twice the number of vacancies were called for class demonstrations.The recruitment comes as enrolment in govt schools is declining. The Union education ministry’s UDISE 2024-25 report shows private unaided school enrolment in Goa has surpassed govt schools for the first time: 41,146 students in private unaided schools versus 35,974 in govt schools. Goa has 773 govt schools compared with 141 private unaided schools.Most students are still in 558 privately-run aided schools, with 2,18,183 students, though enrolment is shifting from aided to unaided schools, many of which follow ICSE or CBSE. Goa also has 4,464 students in five Kendriya Vidyalayas and 779 in two Navodaya Vidyalayas.Of the 141 private unaided schools, 99 are primary-only. UDISE 2023-24 recorded 40,810 students in private unaided schools, indicating growth in 2024-25, while aided school enrolment fell from about 2.2 lakh to about 2.1 lakh, aligning with chief minister Pramod Sawant’s remarks about a gradual shift from aided to private schools.
