Even as the BMC claims to be upgrading and rebranding its education system, civic-run primary schools in the city are facing a shortage of teachers. The civic body has 5,587 vacant positions for the teaching staff, accounting for around 42 per cent of the total requirement, shows data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation provided in an RTI reply.

Marathi medium schools account for the most vacancies at 2,059, accounting for almost 64 per cent of the total requirement, followed by Urdu medium schools at 1,207 vacancies (37 per cent), and Hindi and Gujarati medium schools with 26 per cent 
and 23 per cent vacancies, respectively.