Overview

• The 2024–25 tally translates to roughly 34 students per school on average, according to the Ministry of Education.
• Andhra Pradesh has the most single-teacher schools, while Uttar Pradesh accounts for the highest student enrolment in them.
• The count has been falling over consecutive years, from 118,190 in 2022–23 to 110,971 in 2023–24, reaching 104,125 in 2024–25.
• The Right to Education Act sets pupil–teacher ratio benchmarks of 30:1 in primary and 35:1 in upper primary, underscoring the pressure on single-teacher setups.
• Regional disparities are stark, with very high average enrolments per such school in Chandigarh and Delhi, and much lower figures in Ladakh, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh.