ArdorComm Media News Network
October 15, 2025
Over 33 lakh students in India are studying in more than one lakh schools run by a single teacher, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Education. Andhra Pradesh tops the list in terms of the number of such schools, while Uttar Pradesh records the highest student enrolment.
As per statistics for the academic year 2024–25, India has 1,04,125 single-teacher schools catering to 33,76,769 students — averaging around 34 students per school. This figure highlights ongoing challenges in meeting the Right to Education (RTE) Act norms, which prescribe a pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) of 30:1 for primary grades (I–V) and 35:1 for upper primary levels (VI–VIII).
Andhra Pradesh leads with 12,912 single-teacher schools, followed by Uttar Pradesh (9,508), Jharkhand (9,172), Maharashtra (8,152), Karnataka (7,349), and both Madhya Pradesh and Lakshadweep (7,217 each). States like West Bengal (6,482), Rajasthan (6,117), Chhattisgarh (5,973), and Telangana (5,001) also feature prominently on the list. In contrast, Delhi has only nine such schools, while Puducherry, Ladakh, Chandigarh, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu report none. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have just four.
In terms of student enrolment, Uttar Pradesh leads with 6,24,327 students studying in single-teacher schools, followed by Jharkhand (4,36,480), West Bengal (2,35,494), Madhya Pradesh (2,29,095), Karnataka (2,23,142), Andhra Pradesh (1,97,113), and Rajasthan (1,72,071).
Interestingly, Delhi and Chandigarh, despite having very few such schools, record the highest average student strength per school — 808 and 1,222 respectively. On the other hand, regions like Ladakh (59), Mizoram (70), Meghalaya (73), and Himachal Pradesh (82) have some of the lowest averages.
A senior official from the Ministry explained that the government is working to enhance learning outcomes and improve the efficiency of resource use by merging under-enrolled schools — a process known as “rationalisation.” “Single-teacher schools limit the scope of effective teaching and learning. The government is redeploying teachers from non-operational schools to ensure adequate staff availability in single-teacher schools,” the official said.
The number of single-teacher schools has seen a steady decline, dropping from 1,18,190 in 2022–23 to 1,10,971 in 2023–24 — a reduction of nearly six percent.
Source: PTI