LS Data Reveals 16,357 Government Schools in AP Run With Just One Teacher
As per UDISE+ 2025–26 data, the national average PTR stands at 19:1 at the primary level, 17:1 at the upper primary level, 15:1 at the secondary level, and 23:1 at the higher secondary level, all within the norms envisaged under the NEP.
Visakhapatnam: Revealing a stark imbalance, the latest Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2025–26 data tabled in Parliament disclosed that 16,357 government schools in Andhra Pradesh are functioning with just one teacher.
The Union Ministry of Education shared these figures in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday in response to a question raised by MP Randeep Singh Surjewala on teacher vacancies in government schools and single‑teacher schools nationwide.
The ministry furnished the number of teachers currently in position in government schools across different levels in the state. Andhra Pradesh has 74,616 teachers at the primary level, 7,254 at the upper primary level, 87,545 at the secondary level and 31,710 at the higher secondary level.
However, the ministry did not provide state‑wise data on sanctioned strength or vacancies, underlining that education is a subject on the Concurrent List and recruitment, deployment, and service conditions of teachers are the responsibility of state governments and union territory administrations.
Vacancies, it said, arise from retirements, resignations, creation of new posts, rationalisation of deployment, and changes in student enrolment. The ministry said that it periodically advises states and union territories to fill vacant posts through transparent, merit‑based recruitment mechanisms, and reviews progress through meetings and advisories.
The union government emphasised that it provides financial assistance to states under the Samagra Shiksha programme to help maintain the prescribed pupil‑teacher ratio (PTR) in line with the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.
Referring to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the ministry noted that the policy recommends maintaining a PTR of less than 30:1 in every school and below 25:1 in schools serving a high proportion of socio‑economically disadvantaged children.
As per UDISE+ 2025–26 data, the national average PTR stands at 19:1 at the primary level, 17:1 at the upper primary level, 15:1 at the secondary level, and 23:1 at the higher secondary level, all within the norms envisaged under the NEP.
The ministry highlighted its ongoing National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) programme under which teachers are provided online training through the DIKSHA platform in areas such as foundational literacy and numeracy, early childhood education, educational technology, and secondary education.
