Ludhiana, June 18, 2025: In a landmark move, the Punjab Government has approved the recruitment of 3,600 special education teachers across government schools to support children with special needs (CWSN). This is the first time such large-scale hiring has been sanctioned to address a chronic shortfall in special educators.
At present, Punjab has only 386 special educators, all hired on a contractual basis since 2005, catering to nearly 47,979 CWSN students enrolled in government and government-aided schools. In Ludhiana district alone, just 30 special educators are available for 7,330 students with disabilities.
According to the Education Department, there are 3,917 sanctioned posts for special educators in the state. However, the shortage has persisted despite clear guidelines under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, which mandates one special education teacher for every 10 children with disabilities at the primary level and one for every 15 at the upper primary level.
The issue gained momentum in February when the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) took note of a complaint filed by Berozgaar Vishesh Sikhya Adhyapak Union president Harish Dutt. Acting on the matter, NCPCR directed the Punjab Director General of School Education to conduct an inquiry.
The Punjab State Commission for Protection of Child Rights also intervened, asking the Elementary Education Department to investigate. Further pressure came from the Supreme Court in March, which directed all states and Union Territories to notify sanctioned posts for special educators and begin the selection process by March 28.
Although the state missed the court-imposed deadline by over three months, the Finance Department has now given the green light for phased recruitment. “We will hire 1,100 special educators in the first year, followed by 1,200 in the second, and 1,300 in the third,” said a senior education official.
The 386 contract-based special educators currently serving in schools will also be regularised under the new recruitment plan.
The decision is being hailed as a long-overdue step toward ensuring equitable education. “Special children have long been denied their right to a supportive learning environment. This move brings hope to thousands of families,” said Harish Dutt, the union president whose complaint triggered the intervention.
