Academic Resource Persons (ARPs) form a critical pillar of Uttar Pradesh’s education ecosystem, serving as frontline mentors who bridge policy and practice in the classroom. The cadre was established through Government Order dated 22 October 2019, with five subject-specialised ARPs appointed at each block-covering foundational literacy, numeracy and other core subjects. Each ARP is responsible for conducting structured classroom visits in approximately 30 schools in a month. Their mandate includes monthly school visits, onsite pedagogical demonstrations aligned with NIPUN Bharat’s Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) goals, spot assessments and sharing constructive feedback to teachers. As the tenure of approximately 3,900 ARPs approached expiration on 31 March 2025, the state faced a critical challenge: recruit and onboard a fresh cohort across 75 districts and 880 blocks.
The Recruitment Process
The state initiated a decentralised recruitment process, as mandated by the government order,outlining a three-stage selection process including a written examination, micro-teaching demonstration and an interview-conducted at the district level. To ensure timely completion, a letter issued on 15 January 2025 set a clear deadline: all districts were required to complete recruitment by 15 March 2025. However, the path to achieving this target was fraught with challenges that threatened both the timeline and quality of the selection process.
Navigating the Challenges
As the state initiated the ARP recruitment process within a compressed timeline, it had to contend with a range of contextual and operational complexities. Ongoing legal representations by incumbent ARPs seeking the opportunity to reapply led to delays in advertisement issuance across some districts, further compressing the overall timeline.
In parallel, candidate mobilisation was influenced by the need for greater clarity around the ARP role, its field-intensive nature, mobility-related considerations and perceived professional growth pathways. The monthly mobility allowance of ₹2,500, when viewed alongside the extent of required field travel, was one of the contextual factors shaping applicant interest across districts, particularly given the scale of the recruitment exercise spanning 75 districts and 880 blocks.
Another complexity in the process was the need for clearer state-level championing and strengthened coordination mechanisms during the early stages of recruitment. In the absence of a unified, real-time tracking system at the outset, districts progressed at varying paces, which limited timely visibility into bottlenecks and the ability to provide differentiated support within the compressed recruitment timeline.
Strategic Response Framework to Address Challenges
Recognising the complexity of the challenges, legal delays, perception barriers, inadequate compensation and compressed timelines, the state developed a coordinated strategy that leveraged both internal system actors and external support partners to streamline the process. This dual-track approach combined top-down accountability with bottom-up mobilisation, ensuring both reach and quality in the recruitment process while addressing immediate barriers that threatened to derail progress.
Legal Challenges: Breaking through Administrative Gridlock
Several incumbent ARPs filed legal cases seeking the right to reapply, stalling advertisement publication across multiple districts. The CSF team supported the department to help navigate the legal complexities, maintaining recruitment momentum and preventing complete paralysis.
Financial Barriers: Addressing Mobility Concerns and Gender Equity
The monthly mobility allowance of ₹2,500 was widely perceived as inadequate given extensive field travel requirements, particularly for female candidates. Through sustained advocacy, we nudged the reform that resulted in a revised Government Order, dated 18 July 2025, increasing the mobility allowance from ₹2,500 to ₹4,500 per month and introducing an additional Teaching-Learning Material (TLM) grant of ₹500 monthly. This specifically aimed to encourage female candidates, signaling commitment to building a diverse, gender-balanced mentor cadre.
Approach to ARP Recruitment
To navigate legal delays, perception barriers, and compressed timelines, the state adopted a structured, dual-track recruitment strategy. This approach combined strong internal accountability mechanisms with targeted external support to ensure both scale and quality in mobilisation and selection across districts.
Internal System Actors: Building Accountability through Leadership
A pivotal shift occurred in late February 2025 when Additional State Project Director (ASPD) Ekta Singh stepped forward as the state-level champion for the ARP recruitment process. Under her leadership, a robust monitoring mechanism was established, featuring regular review meetings, co-led by the Director General (DG) with all 75 Basic Shiksha Adhikaris (BSAs). These systematic progress tracking sessions, supported by real-time dashboards, enabled immediate identification of bottlenecks and rapid problem resolution, creating clear accountability.
At the district level, BSAs were assigned specific application targets and held accountable for mobilisation within their districts. Their performance was tracked through state-level dashboards, creating both transparency and pressure to deliver results.
The most critical layer comprised Block Education Officers (BEOs) as ground-level champions. Each BEO received a clear target of driving three times the number of applications relative to block vacancies. This 3x formula ensured sufficient applicant pools for rigorous selection while accounting for potential dropouts. Real-time tracking created grassroots ownership, ensuring localised outreach that resonated with potential applicants in ways state-level messaging alone could not achieve.
External Support Partners: Strengthening Momentum and Quality
Complementing the internal hierarchy, external support structures provided critical capacity reinforcement. The department allocated District Owners, nodal officers from partner organisations (Central Square Foundation, Samagra and MANTRA4CHANGE) and selected department officials, to sustain communication momentum and mobilisation pressure. They circulated recruitment posters, nudged Basic Shiksha Adhikaris (BSAs) and Chief Development Officers (CDOs) to create motivational videos, and worked with State Resource Groups (SRGs) to create WhatsApp groups with potential aspirants like Sankul teachers and state-level awardees for targeted outreach. District Owners disseminated recruitment materials showcasing career pathways, professional development opportunities at premier institutions and opportunities to contribute to academic material development and state-level representation.
Eight District Program Management Units (DPMUs) operated in parallel, ensuring quality assurance through hands-on engagement at every recruitment stage — physically present during written examinations, micro-teaching demonstrations and interviews. DPMUs developed a comprehensive question paper framework assessing subject knowledge, pedagogical expertise, FLN competencies, mentoring skills and critical thinking, which was replicated across districts for standardisation. They shared best practices while conducting micro-targeting and tracking of block-level progress, validating that the BEO-driven 3x targeting strategy was successfully expanding applicant pools.
Impact
The integration of top-down accountability, bottom-up mobilisation, external support and coordinated communication efforts yielded significant results. Approximately 9,000 applications were received across the state, enabling districts to conduct rigorous selection processes while maintaining quality standards. As of now, 3,102 ARPs have been successfully hired (70% complete), ensuring continuity in supportive supervision and preventing any disruption to the ongoing NIPUN Bharat Mission.
Lessons for Large-scale Recruitment
For practitioners facing similar large-scale recruitment challenges, this case offers both hope and practical guidance. The Uttar Pradesh ARP hiring experience underscores a crucial insight: while perfect initial strategies may be impossible to design, the capacity for adaptive implementation can transform even struggling initiatives into success stories. The key lies not in avoiding implementation challenges, but in building systems capable of learning from them and adapting accordingly.
This case study highlights several critical success factors that can be replicated across contexts, including:
- Visible state-level championing creates momentum and signals institutional priority, cutting through bureaucratic inertia
- Decentralised execution paired with centralised monitoring balances local responsiveness with accountability
- Ground-level champions with clear, measurable targets drive tangible results when supported by regular review mechanisms
- Proactive communication strategies can reshape perceptions and expand talent pools, even when initial interest appears limited. The amalgamation of top-down accountability and bottom-up mobilisation proved essential in navigating legal delays, perception barriers and timeline pressures simultaneously.
Way Forward
With recruitment 70% complete, the focus has additionally shifted to equipping the incoming ARP cadre with competencies necessary to drive educational excellence. Training is currently underway at the State Institute of Educational Management in Prayagraj, building capacity across four critical themes: Mentoring and Supervision, Foundational Learning and Pedagogy, Assessment, Technology and System Planning and Communication & Facilitation and Inclusive Practices. By investing in comprehensive capacity building from the outset, the state aims to ensure that newly hired ARPs serve as catalysts for transformative change-the success of the NIPUN Bharat Mission hinges on having mentors who possess the skills, confidence and strategic mindset to elevate teaching practices and student learning outcomes across Uttar Pradesh.
