Over 100,000 Indian schools run by 1 teacher: UDISE+ 2025-26
India
Surprisingly, over 100,000 schools across India are run by just a single teacher, according to the latest UDISE+ data for 2025-26.
Most of these schools are in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and West Bengal, together making up nearly two-thirds of the total.
Education Ministry urges transparent recruitment
Even though national pupil-teacher ratios look OK on paper, some states face big gaps.
Kerala has 67 single-teacher schools while Delhi has only seven single-teacher schools.
The Ministry of Education says retirements and shifting student numbers are part of the problem.
States have been asked to recruit teachers transparently and use tech to predict future needs; plus, there's financial help through Samagra Shiksha to keep things balanced.