3 weeks ago

India cuts 3,282 single-teacher schools; 5 states add thousands

India cuts 3,282 single-teacher schools; 5 states add thousands
India cut 3,282 single-teacher schools in a year, yet 5 states added thousands · indianexpress.com

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.

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

Sources

Related news