Mumbai’s Art and Music Academy is grappling with a teacher shortage, disrupting arts education in civic schools and triggering calls for urgent recruitment reforms
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Mumbai’s municipal art and music programme is struggling to deliver consistent instruction as a growing teacher shortfall leaves classes under-staffed across civic schools.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Art and Music Academy, established in 1974 to foster creative talent among students in municipal schools, is currently operating with only a fraction of its sanctioned teaching staff, officials say.
While the academy is authorised for around 460 art and music teacher positions, only a small number of posts are filled, as retirements over recent years have not been matched by fresh recruitment. BMC education officials say this gap has steadily widened, undermining structured arts education citywide.
Compounding the situation is a regulatory requirement under the Right to Education Act and a June 2025 government resolution that allows part-time art and music teachers to be appointed only in schools with at least 100 students in Classes 6 to 8. The academy says this rule conflicts with its model, in which teachers are centrally appointed and deployed across multiple schools.
The staffing crunch has led to untenable workloads for the remaining teachers. An education department officer said that where one instructor once handled five divisions in a day, they now manage up to 18, making it “practically impossible” to maintain quality instruction.
Internal documents highlight the academy’s legacy, noting that notable musicians such as Pandit Ram Deshpande and Pandit Tulsidas Borkar once taught in the municipal system, and esteemed artists like Sulabha Deshpande and Shruti Sadolikar served on advisory boards. At present, only Sadolikar remains involved.
Officials warn the situation may worsen: of the current 63 music teachers, 25 are due to retire between 2025 and 2026, potentially reducing staff numbers further.
Shruti Sadolikar stressed the importance of specialised art and music educators in schools, pointing to the National Education Policy’s emphasis on arts education. She urged the BMC to either revert to a dedicated recruitment system or offer longer-term contracts to sustain teaching capacity.
A senior BMC education officer said the civic body is exploring solutions, including consulting the state education department on appointments via the Pavitra Portal and considering contract or clock-hour hires, but acknowledged the challenge remains significant.
Despite a proposal in April last year to recruit additional drawing and music teachers under state norms, the academy continues to struggle to fill critical positions as the staffing deficit deepens.