Parliament Question: Status of Government schools

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO:- 3696 ANSWERED ON-25/03/2026 Status of Government schools 3696 # Dr. Sandeep Kumar Pathak: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) the total number of sanctioned posts of teachers and the current vacancies in Government schools across the country, State-wise details thereof; (b) the current Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) at the primary, middle and secondary levels in the country and whether it is in accordance with the prescribed norms; and (c) the current status of basic facilities in Government schools, such as separate toilets for boys and girls, safe drinking water, electricity and digital labs/smart classrooms, details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) & (b): Education being a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, the majority of schools in the country are under the administrative control of the respective State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. Accordingly, matters relating to recruitment, service conditions and deployment of teachers fall within the administrative domain of the concerned States/UTs. Vacancies of teachers arise from time to time due to factors such as retirement, resignation, creation of new posts, rationalisation and increased enrolment, including in rural and remote areas. The data regarding sanctioned posts of teachers and the current vacancies in Government schools across the country, is maintained by the respective States/UTs. As per the UDISE+, the State/UT-wise details of teachers in position in Government schools across the country, are placed in the Annexure, available at https://www.education.gov.in/parl_ques. As far as Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) are concerned, a total of 8,714 and 5,045 teaching vacancies, were notified by KVS and NVS respectively in November 2025 for direct recruitment. The Central Government periodically advises States/UTs to fill vacant posts through transparent and merit-based recruitment processes, including through autonomous teacher recruitment boards or similar mechanisms. The progress of recruitment is regularly reviewedthrough meetings and advisories, with emphasis on competitive selection, consistency and technology-based teacher requirement planning and forecasting. Further, the Central Government provides financial assistance to States/UTs under Samagra Shiksha to maintain appropriate Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) at various levels of schooling in accordance with the norms prescribed under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. Para 2.3 of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 emphasises maintaining a PTR of under 30:1 in each school and under 25:1 in areas with a high proportion of socio-economically disadvantaged students. As per UDISE+ data, the PTR at the national level stands at 20 at Primary level, 17 at Upper Primary level, and 15 at Secondary level, which is within the norms envisaged under NEP 2020. (c): As per UDISE+ 2024-25, out of 1013322 Government Schools across the country, 9,40,625 have functional girls’ toilets, 9,06,183 have functional boys’ toilets, 9,35,216 have functional electricity, and 10,03,305 have functional drinking water facilities. Further, 2,89,815 Government schools are equipped with smart classrooms. *****