The Tamil Nadu state government has created 1,328 new physical education (PE) teacher posts and 297 physical education director grade-II posts for state-run schools, addressing a long-standing demand for more educators in this field.
Current State of Schools and Posts
The state has 5,597 high and higher secondary schools, comprising 2,864 government and municipal high schools and 2,913 higher secondary schools. However, only 4,571 PE teacher posts, 93 PE director grade-II posts, and 406 PE director grade-I posts were previously sanctioned.
Mandatory PE Lessons
Last week, the school education department instructed all schools to compulsorily hold PE lessons for classes VI to XII. PE teachers' associations welcomed the move but demanded the recruitment of more teachers. They noted that PE teacher posts have not been provided in 9,000 middle schools.
S Sankaraperumal, president of the Tamil Nadu Physical Education Teachers’ and Physical Directors’ Association, highlighted that 477 high and higher secondary schools lack PE teacher posts, and nearly 2,900 posts remain vacant. The new posts aim to bridge this gap and ensure better implementation of physical education in schools.
