Reported by Mrinal Kanti Banik
Agartala: The Tripura High Court has directed the state government to immediately initiate the recruitment process for 1,116 vacant Post Graduate Teacher (PGT) posts, while asking the authorities to take a decision on filling 2,193 vacant Graduate Teacher (GT) posts).
The directions were issued by a division bench comprising Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Biswajit Palit while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerning teacher vacancies in the state. The bench considered an additional affidavit filed by the Under Secretary of the School Education Department.
The court noted that 1,116 PGT positions had become vacant following the death, retirement, resignation and termination of serving teachers. It questioned the department’s proposal to recreate the posts before initiating recruitment.
The bench observed that vacancies arising from retirement, resignation, death or termination do not require the posts to be recreated and termed the proposed exercise unnecessary. It accordingly directed the authorities to begin recruitment against all 1,116 PGT vacancies without further delay.
Regarding Graduate Teachers, the court noted that 2,193 GT posts had fallen vacant, but the School Education Department had asked the Teachers’ Recruitment Board, Tripura (TRBT), in July 2022 to recommend candidates for only 230 posts.
The court questioned the decision to fill such a small portion of the available vacancies, stressing that authorities were responsible for filling all vacant posts rather than limiting recruitment to 230 positions.
The bench also considered a Special Leave Petition pending before the Supreme Court concerning the application of reservation rules to the recruitment against the 230 GT vacancies. The petition challenges a December 19, 2022 order passed by the High Court in WP(C) No. 736 of 2022.
The High Court noted that the state authorities had not indicated that the Supreme Court had imposed any stay preventing recruitment against the vacancies while the SLP remains pending.
Emphasising that students require teachers and that a substantial portion of the academic year had already elapsed, the court directed the state to take a decision by the next hearing on filling the GT vacancies, subject to the outcome of the Supreme Court proceedings.
The bench also took up the issue of 700 newly created GT posts. The posts were created by the state government, which subsequently requisitioned the Teachers’ Recruitment Board on August 5, 2025.
Although the Board conducted the selection test for these posts on February 14, 2026, the court noted that no further progress had been reported in the recruitment process.
Taking note of the delay, the bench suo motu impleaded the Chairman of the Teachers’ Recruitment Board of Tripura as Respondent No. 5. It directed the Board to complete the recruitment process for the 700 posts at the earliest and submit an affidavit before the next hearing outlining the steps taken.
The court also examined vacancies among school administrators. It noted that 162 Headmaster and 100 Assistant Headmaster posts were vacant in higher secondary schools, while another 304 Headmaster posts remained vacant in high schools.
The state authorities were directed to fill all vacant Headmaster and Assistant Headmaster positions in accordance with the applicable recruitment rules and submit an affidavit detailing the action taken.
The matter, along with another PIL, has been listed for further hearing on September 21.