Contract teachers in Puducherry have been protesting for more than a week demanding regularisation of their jobs. On February 3, police stopped their protest march towards the Assembly. This is the latest chapter in a wider struggle across India where contract teachers seek fair treatment and permanent employment. Last year, contract teachers in Puducherry held a sit-in protest near the Assembly for over four days. They ended their agitation after Chief Minister N. Rangasamy promised the government would regularise their jobs. In November 2025, Puducherry’s Home and Education Minister A. Namassivayam said plans were in place to regularise 292 contract teachers. Contract teachers, also called para teachers, guest teachers, or shiksha mitras, were hired from the 1990s to fill teacher shortages. They work on short-term contracts and earn less than regular teachers. According to the latest UDISE+ data, contract and part-time teachers make up about 16% of India’s school teaching workforce, totaling over 16 lakh teachers. These teachers often work just as much as regular teachers but lack benefits like higher pay and job stability. Studies have found hiring contract teachers is a cost-saving move for states. A 2009 World Bank report said contract teachers earn about one-fourth the salary of regular teachers. The problem is especially bad in some schools. Over 1.5 lakh schools in India have contract or part-time teachers making up at least half of their workforce. Around 21% of private schools and 8% of state government schools fall into this category. This pattern is similar in both rural and urban schools, showing teacher shortages are not the only cause. States with high shares of contract teacher reliance include those in the Northeast like Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya. Jharkhand, Haryana, and Chandigarh also show high numbers. In a related development, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled on November 14, 2025, that contractual labels must not be misused and ordered regularisation of teachers in Chandigarh who served more than 10 years. The demand for fair pay and permanent jobs by contract teachers continues to fuel protests across India.