Nearly 25% of Kendriya Vidyalayas operate without regular principals: Report

The Ministry of Education has informed Parliament that 344 of the country's 1,356 functional Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) are operating without regular principals, highlighting persistent leadership vacancies despite multiple recruitment drives in recent years.

According to the ministry, only 1,012 Kendriya Vidyalayas currently have regular principals or grade-II principals, leaving nearly one in four schools without a full-time head.

The figures indicate that while the Kendriya Vidyalaya network has expanded over the years, vacancies in leadership positions continue to persist. Eight years ago, official data had shown 200 vacant principal posts out of 1,081 sanctioned positions.

Responding to a question in Parliament, the Ministry of Education said vacancies arise due to the opening of new schools, retirements, resignations, promotions, transfers, deputations, and school upgradation.

It added that filling these positions is an ongoing process carried out in accordance with KVS recruitment rules.

The ministry said that when principal posts remain vacant, KVS regional offices assign vice-principals or senior-most teachers to serve as in-charge principals.

Contractual teachers are also appointed on a temporary basis to ensure classroom teaching continues without disruption while recruitment is underway.

The data comes after KVS completed one of its largest recruitment exercises in recent years. According to the government, recruitment for 13,411 teaching and non-teaching posts, including principal positions, was completed during 2022-23 following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recruitment has continued since then.

In November 2025, KVS announced 8,714 teaching vacancies through direct recruitment, including 161 principal posts. The Tier I and Tier II examinations for these vacancies were conducted in January and March 2026, respectively.

Separately, KVS issued another notification in December 2025 to fill 2,153 teaching posts, including 157 principal vacancies, through the Limited Departmental Examination and Limited Departmental Competitive Examination.

The latest figures also reflect staffing challenges compared with the 2015-16 KVS annual report, which recorded 200 vacant principal posts, 113 vacancies for vice-principals, more than 10,000 vacant teaching positions across primary, trained graduate, and postgraduate teacher categories, and over 14,000 vacant non-teaching posts.

The number of functioning Kendriya Vidyalayas has increased from 1,142 in 2015-16 to 1,356 at present, creating additional demand for principals, teachers, and administrative personnel as the network expands.

The Ministry of Education maintained that academic standards have not been affected by the vacancies.

It said Kendriya Vidyalayas have consistently delivered strong examination results and that temporary administrative arrangements and contractual appointments help ensure the teaching-learning process continues uninterrupted until regular appointments are made.

The government also said KVS offers career advancement opportunities to teachers through promotions based on seniority-cum-fitness and Limited Departmental Examinations.

In addition, teachers are eligible for financial progression under the Senior Scale and Selection Scale, while transfers of teaching and non-teaching staff are governed by an approved transfer policy.