India, May 18 -- Art teachers in schools across the state are being erased from the recruitment landscape, thanks to a government rule that limits their hiring to one drawing teacher for every 500 students. The new rule, announced in March 2024 but to be implemented from the upcoming academic year, covers government and government-aided private schools - more than 260 aided private schools in Mumbai alone stand to be impacted.

Principals of these schools said the government has not approved a single new appointment for art teachers since 2012, citing various administrative hurdles. One Mumbai principal said art classes for students in their school, from Classes 5 to 10, are in jeopardy.

"We currently have 461 students from Classes 5 to ...