The Jharkhand High Court on Monday expressed displeasure over the sluggish pace of teacher appointments by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC), observing that the Commission had failed to act in accordance with its earlier assurances.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice MS Ramachandra Rao and Justice Rajesh Shankar was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by economist and social activist Jean Dreze. The bench noted that despite prior directions, the JSSC had not demonstrated sufficient progress.

The court has now directed the Commission to inform it of the exact timeline for issuing appointment letters to selected candidates.

The JSSC had submitted an affidavit detailing the progress of the ongoing recruitment process. However, the bench observed that the pace of appointments fell short of what the Commission had previously committed to.

According to the affidavit, out of around 6,000 candidates who applied for teacher posts in Mathematics and Science, only 2,734 have been shortlisted. With 5,008 vacancies still unfilled, the Commission stated that the remaining candidates failed to meet the minimum qualifying marks.

In the Social Science stream, the verification process for 5,304 shortlisted candidates—against 5,002 vacancies—is still incomplete, the affidavit noted.

The Court has now directed the JSSC to submit an updated status report clearly outlining the current stage of the appointment process and steps taken so far. The matter will next be heard on July 2.

The PIL by Dreze highlights the severe shortage of teachers in government schools across Jharkhand. Citing data from the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE), the petition states that nearly 30% of government schools in the state operate with only one teacher.