Shimla: Despite Himachal Pradesh claiming the country’s best pupil-teacher ratio of 1:10 in govt schools, 150 schools are functioning without a teacher and nearly 3,500 with a single teacher, education minister Rohit Thakur told the assembly on Wednesday.Replying during zero hour to BJP MLA Reena Kashyap, Thakur said 600 teachers were being recruited and nearly 9,000 vacancies had been filled under the Congress govt. He said 15,000-16,000 more teachers would be recruited by the end of its tenure. CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu assured the house that all vacancies would be filled soon.Kashyap said 12 primary schools in her Pachhad constituency had no teacher, some with more than 40 students, forcing parents to hire teachers themselves.Later, Sukhu said six ropeway projects under the PPP model had been approved and were under process. He said the govt wanted to connect tourist destinations through ropeways but costs remained high. The proposed Shimla ropeway, whose cost rose from Rs 1,200 crore to Rs 2,700 crore, was eventually cancelled.Sukhu also announced that the govt would purchase 1,000 more electric buses as part of its budget commitment to expand environment-friendly public transport.Opposition protestsBJP members protested over repeatedly postponed questions. Dharamshala MLA Sudhir Sharma said his employment-related question had not received the required information for three assembly sessions. Leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur alleged the govt was withholding information. Sukhu said the details would be provided in the March 2027 budget session. It also protested against the proposed restart of lottery, failure to fulfil job promises and controlled cannabis cultivation.2 bills passedAmid BJP protests, the assembly passed the Himachal Pradesh State Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2026, by voice vote. It seeks to strengthen financial discipline and accountability in six state universities by making the secretary (finance) the head of each university’s finance committee. Financially significant matters will require the committee’s consideration and subsequent govt approval. It also provides for merit-based recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff through the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission and Himachal Pradesh Rajya Chayan Aayog.The assembly also passed the Shimla Road Users and Pedestrians (Public Safety and Convenience) Amendment Bill, 2026, which seeks to rationalise permit fees for sealed and restricted roads in Shimla while regulating vehicular and pedestrian movement.