SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has 1,544 single-teacher schools, while Ladakh has 28, according to UDISE+ 2025-26 data presented by the Union Ministry of Education in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The data, provided in response to an unstarred question by Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala, shows that Jammu and Kashmir accounts for around 1.5 per cent of the 1,00,843 single-teacher schools recorded across India in 2025-26. Ladakh’s 28 such schools account for a much smaller share.
Among the neighbouring and comparable regions, Jammu and Kashmir’s figure is lower than Himachal Pradesh’s 3,128 and Uttarakhand’s 2,655, but higher than Punjab’s 1,749 and Haryana’s 1,278. Ladakh, with 28 single-teacher schools, is among the Union Territories and states with the lowest numbers.
The Ministry also furnished the number of teachers in position in government schools in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Jammu and Kashmir had 18,748 teachers at the primary level, 38,988 at the upper-primary level, 17,578 at the secondary level and 16,255 at the higher-secondary level, taking the total to 91,569 teachers in government schools.
Ladakh had 734 teachers at the primary level, 2,426 at the upper-primary level, 1,054 at the secondary level and 1,075 at the higher-secondary level, totalling 5,289 teachers.
The Union Government, however, said the data on sanctioned strength, working strength and vacancies of teachers is maintained by the respective state governments and Union Territory administrations. It did not provide state- or UT-wise vacancy figures in the parliamentary reply.
According to the Ministry, teacher vacancies arise periodically due to retirements, resignations, creation of new posts, rationalisation of teacher deployment and changes in enrolment, including in rural, tribal and aspirational districts. Recruitment, service conditions and deployment of teachers fall within the administrative domain of the respective states and UTs.
At the national level, India had 17,54,291 teachers in position in government primary schools, 15,32,001 in upper-primary schools, 5,38,824 in secondary schools and 13,09,507 in higher-secondary schools in 2025-26, according to UDISE+.
The Ministry said the national pupil-teacher ratio stood 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. It said these ratios are within the norms envisaged under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasises a PTR below 30:1 in each school and below 25:1 in areas with a high proportion of socio-economically disadvantaged students.
The Union Government said it periodically advises states and UTs to fill vacant teaching posts through transparent and merit-based recruitment, including through autonomous teacher recruitment boards or similar mechanisms. Recruitment progress is also reviewed through meetings and advisories, with an emphasis on competitive selection and technology-based planning and forecasting of teacher requirements.
It further said financial assistance is provided to states and UTs under Samagra Shiksha to maintain appropriate pupil-teacher ratios in accordance with the norms prescribed under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
The Ministry also cited the National Mission to improve learning outcomes through NISHTHA, an integrated teacher-training programme covering elementary and secondary education, foundational literacy and numeracy, early childhood care and education, and educational technology. The courses are offered online by NCERT through the DIKSHA platform.
