In an insightful revelation about the Indian education system, official data indicates that as many as 1,04,125 schools across the country operate with a single teacher each. These institutions collectively cater to a substantial student population of 33,76,769, averaging about 34 students per school. This statistic comes from the Ministry of Education’s statistics for the academic year 2024-25.
The Right To Education Act, 2009, sets a standard pupil-teacher ratio of 30:1 for primary levels and 35:1 for upper primary levels. Examining the distribution of single-teacher schools, Andhra Pradesh stands out with the highest count, followed closely by Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. However, when focusing on student enrollment within these schools, Uttar Pradesh takes the lead, with Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh also showing significant numbers.
Interestingly, there has been a decrease in the number of single-teacher schools over the past two years. From 1,18,190 in 2022–23, the count dropped to 1,10,971 in 2023–24, marking a reduction of approximately six percent. This trend aligns with the government’s ongoing mission to enhance learning outcomes and optimize resource utilization through school mergers and consolidation, a process often referred to as ‘rationalisation of schools’.
A senior official commented on this initiative, explaining that single-teacher schools can pose challenges to the teaching-learning process. To address this, efforts are underway to redeploy teachers from schools with no student enrollment to those with single teachers, aiming for a more balanced teacher distribution.
State-wise figures show Andhra Pradesh with 12,912 single-teacher schools, and Uttar Pradesh with 9,508. Jharkhand follows with 9,172, Maharashtra with 8,152, Karnataka with 7,349, and Lakshadweep with 7,217. Madhya Pradesh also reports 7,217 such schools, with West Bengal at 6,482 and Rajasthan at 6,117.
Metropolitan areas like Delhi have a minimal number, with only nine single-teacher schools. Union Territories such as Puducherry, Ladakh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Chandigarh report no single-teacher schools. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have just four.
In terms of student numbers, Uttar Pradesh leads with 6,24,327 students in single-teacher schools. Jharkhand follows with 4,36,480 students, West Bengal with 2,35,494, and Madhya Pradesh with 2,29,095. Karnataka has 2,23,142, Andhra Pradesh 1,97,113, and Rajasthan 1,72,071 students in these schools, among others.
Conversely, Chandigarh and Delhi show the highest average student enrollments per school, at 1,222 and 808 respectively. Regions like Ladakh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Himachal Pradesh have significantly lower averages, ranging from 59 to 82 students per school.
The official further elaborated that a high student-to-school ratio often signifies optimal use of infrastructure, and schools with very low enrollments are actively being merged to ensure better resource allocation.
This article was compiled from an automated news agency feed.
Key Takeaways:
- Over 1 lakh single-teacher schools in India cater to more than 3.3 million students.
- Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of single-teacher schools, while Uttar Pradesh has the most students enrolled in them.
- The number of these schools has decreased by approximately 6% year-on-year.
- Government initiatives focus on school mergers and teacher redeployment to improve resource utilization and learning outcomes.