over-33-lakh-students-attend-single-teacher-schools-nationwide

More than 1 lakh schools across India are run by a single teacher, catering to over 33 lakh students, with Andhra Pradesh hosting the largest number of such schools, while Uttar Pradesh records the highest student enrolment, according to official data from the Ministry of Education.

 

For the academic year 2024–25, India had 1,04,125 single-teacher schools, averaging roughly 34 students per school. The Right to Education Act, 2009, recommends a pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) of 30:1 at the primary level and 35:1 at the upper primary level.

 

Andhra Pradesh tops the list with 12,912 single-teacher schools, followed by Uttar Pradesh (9,508), Jharkhand (9,172), Maharashtra (8,152), Karnataka (7,349) and Lakshadweep (7,217). When measured by student enrolments, Uttar Pradesh leads with 6,24,327 students, trailed by Jharkhand (4,36,480) and West Bengal (2,35,494).

 

The number of such schools has gradually declined from 1,18,190 in 2022–23 to 1,10,971 in 2023–24, a fall of around six per cent.

 

“The government is on a mission to improve the learning outcomes and entail the best possible utilisation of available resources by undertaking school mergers and consolidation of schools often called ‘rationalisation of schools’,” a senior official explained.

Also read: One in three Indian schools has fewer than 50 students: PRS report

 

“Single-teacher schools hinder the teaching learning process and hence efforts are being made to redeploy teachers from schools with zero student enrolment to single-teacher schools to ensure optimal teacher availability,” the official added.

 

While Delhi has nine single-teacher schools and Andaman and Nicobar Islands only four, the Union Territories of Puducherry, Ladakh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and Chandigarh have none.

 

Average student enrolment per school varies widely, with Chandigarh and Delhi recording 1,222 and 808 students per school, respectively, indicating high utilisation of infrastructure. Ladakh, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh, on the other hand, have low average enrolments of 59, 70, 73 and 82 students per school.

 

“High number of students per school indicates optimum utilisation of school infrastructure and schools with low enrolments are currently being merged to ensure optimal utilisation,” the official said.