Prayagraj, May 8 -- In a bid to address the shortage of teachers in 2,635 government-run secondary schools across Uttar Pradesh, retired officers, qualified professionals and former teachers will be encouraged to serve as guest teachers on a purely voluntary and free-of-cost basis. Officials said the state's secondary education director, Mahendra Dev, submitted a proposal on April 8. This was followed by a meeting on April 20, chaired by the additional chief secretary to the chief minister Yogi Adityanath, where directions were issued to prepare village-wise, block-wise and district-wise lists of all retired teachers and eligible staff. A senior official in the secondary education department stated that interested personnel will be engaged in teaching assignments based on their expertise at the corresponding local levels. The confirmed minutes of the April 20 meeting were issued on April 27. Subsequently, on May 4, director Mahendra Dev sent a directive to all district inspectors of schools (DIoSs) requesting detailed lists of retired officers, teachers and staff, along with their area-wise expertise at the block and district levels. Officials added that a review meeting chaired by director general, school education, Monica Rani, is scheduled for May 8. The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) initiated recruitment last year for 7,466 LT Grade posts (after a seven-year gap) and 1,471 lecturer posts (after a five-year gap) in government schools. However, the selection process is still underway. The May 4 order, a copy of which Hindustan Times also has, notes that student enrollment and academic quality in government secondary schools are being adversely affected because the lengthy recruitment process is expected to take time. To address this gap, a committee under the respective DIoSs will be formed to select guest teachers willing to teach voluntarily. The maximum age limit for these guest teachers has been set at 65 years. Interested retired personnel can apply via email to the concerned DIoS to teach at specific schools with vacancies. Assignments will be allotted based on minimum staffing requirements, and their teaching activities will be monitored. The April 20 meeting also directed the implementation of an integrated teaching model for secondary education until regular recruitment is completed. This model will combine offline classroom teaching with online classes conducted through smart classrooms. Furthermore, officials said that video lectures from expert teachers will be made available on digital platforms to ensure students in remote areas can access quality educational content....