UP has 9,508 single-teacher schools catering to 6.2 lakh students, according to the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report for 2024–25 released by the Union education ministry. The report also notes that 81 schools in the state have no students on record, yet 56 teachers remain posted there.

Overall, UP has 2.6 lakh schools, 4.3 crore students, and 16.2 lakh teachers. This translates into a pupil–teacher ratio (PTR) of 26, with each school averaging six teachers and 163 students.

Across India, 1 lakh schools with 33.8 lakh students are run by just one teacher. UP alone accounts for nearly 9% of these schools and more than 18% of the students enrolled in them.

In comparison, neighbouring Delhi and Haryana have fewer single-teacher institutions. Delhi has 5,556 schools with 44.9 lakh students, but only 62 of them, catering to 771 students, are staffed by a single teacher. Haryana has 23,494 schools with 57.7 lakh students, of which 1,066 schools serve 43,400 students with only one teacher.

Nationally, India has 14.7 lakh schools enrolling 24.7 crore students.

Layik Ahmed, a member of Ghaziabad teachers’ association, said the findings underscore the acute teacher shortage in UP, worsened by years of retirements and slow recruitment. UP last appointed around 70,000 assistant teachers for primary schools based on TET 2011 scores.

In March, TOI reported at least 30 govt primary schools in Ghaziabad’s city zone were operating without principals, while at least 25 had just one teacher. The report flagged that 10 more teachers, including three principals, were due to retire in April, which would leave some of these schools, some with student strength of over 200, severely short-staffed.

The UDISE+ report also shows 7,087 schools (5.2%) in the state do not have functional toilets for girls, a significant driver of high dropout rates, particularly for adolescent girls who face challenges with menstrual hygiene.

Data shows out of 1,36,979 govt girls’ or co-ed schools where girl students are enrolled, 1,33,311 schools (97.3%) have girls’ toilets, but only 1,29,892 (94.8%) have functional ones. This means 3,668 schools (2.7%) do not have separate toilets for girls and an additional 3,419 have toilets but these are not functional.

The report shows that Uttar Pradesh has 1,37,172 government schools, 8,262 government-aided schools, and 1,04,580 private unaided schools. Of these, only 51,295 schools (19.6%) have functional computers. By category, just 4,729 government schools (3.4%) are equipped with computers, compared to 3,114 government-aided schools (37.7%) and 41,491 private unaided schools (39.7%).

The digital gap is starker for laptops and tablets. Only 37,498 schools (14.3%) across UP have functional laptops, and 69,001 (26.3%) have tablets. Among government schools, just 1,094 (0.8%) have laptops, though 61,522 (44.8%) are equipped with tablets. In contrast, 31,684 private unaided schools (30.2%) have laptops, while only 6,831 (6.5%) provide tablets.

Of 1.4 lakh govt schools, only 28,558 have functional smart classrooms equipped with digital boards, smart boards, virtual classrooms, or smart TVs, the report shows. This means 1.1 lakh govt schools (or 79%) still do not have digital infrastructure.

“The figures highlight the digital gap, particularly in rural and govt schools, despite the National Education Policy’s emphasis on digital education. Most schools rely on CSR funding to procure computers and related setups. While the govt has distributed tablets, many teachers are still unsure how to use them effectively. There is an urgent need for training to bridge this digital divide. In our district, many schools still lack adequate digital infrastructure to teach students,” said a senior govt schoolteacher from Dankaur.