Srinagar, Sep 24: The Jammu and Kashmir Government is undertaking a rationalization exercise to address staffing shortages in schools with higher pupil-teacher ratios, Education Minister Sakeena Itoo informed the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

Responding to a question from Uri MLA Sajjad Shafi, Itoo said that 10 out of 375 government schools in the Uri constituency have a pupil-teacher ratio exceeding 40.

She said additional teaching staff is being deployed in understaffed schools through rationalization and better allocation of available resources.

The minister said applications from eligible teachers have been invited under the Annual Transfer Drive 2026. Their transfers will be considered while taking into account the staffing needs of schools with higher student enrolment.

Itoo said 22 Laboratory Assistants were recently promoted as teachers, with eight of them adjusted in the Uri constituency. Five Masters have also been transferred to the constituency to strengthen teaching arrangements in schools facing higher pupil loads.

She added that the rationalization exercise for the current academic session has already begun. The staffing requirements of individual schools will be assessed to ensure a more balanced deployment of teaching personnel across the region.