3 weeks ago
India cuts 3,282 single-teacher schools; 5 states add thousands
India has a very big school system with millions of students.
Some small schools have only one teacher who teaches every subject to every grade.
In the last year, the number of these single-teacher schools went down from 1,04,125 to 1,00,843.
That means 3,282 fewer such schools.
But not every state saw fewer single-teacher schools.
Madhya Pradesh reduced its count the most, by almost 5,000 schools.
Andhra Pradesh went the other way and added more than 3,400.
The government did not explain why states behaved so differently.
It also did not share how many teacher posts are empty.
Fewer single-teacher schools can be good news, but we cannot be sure if it means better teaching or schools that closed down.
India's single-teacher schools fell from 1,04,125 in 2024-25 to 1,00,843 in 2025-26, a net decline of 3,282.
Five states cut more than 11,000 single-teacher schools between them, over three times the national net decline.
Madhya Pradesh recorded the sharpest drop (-4,948), while Andhra Pradesh added the most schools (+3,445).
The central government did not table sanctioned teacher strength or vacancy data, saying states maintain it.
Pupil-teacher ratios of 15-23 across school levels in 2025-26 were lower than the 2024-25 composite figure of 24 and within NEP 2020 norms.
- Who
- The Government of India and state governments, with data from UDISE+ tabled in the Rajya Sabha.
- What
- The national count of single-teacher schools fell by 3,282, from 1,04,125 to 1,00,843, while several states added thousands.
- Where
- Across India, with major changes in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states.
- When
- Between the academic years 2024-25 and 2025-26; the data was tabled in the Rajya Sabha in late July.
- Why
- Changes stem from teacher deployment, retirements, resignations and possibly school mergers or closures, though the government did not specify; vacancy and sanctioned-post data were not provided.
Key facts
- Single-teacher schools 2024-25
- 1,04,125
- Single-teacher schools 2025-26
- 1,00,843
- Net national decline
- 3,282 schools
- Largest decline
- Madhya Pradesh, -4,948 schools
- Largest increase
- Andhra Pradesh, +3,445 schools
- Highest count among major states
- Uttar Pradesh, 7,874 single-teacher schools
- Pupil-teacher ratio 2025-26
- 19 (primary), 17 (upper primary), 15 (secondary), 23 (higher secondary)
- Data source
- UDISE+ reports, tabled in Rajya Sabha










