**Executive Summary**
This document is a response by the Minister of Education to Starred Question No. 114, addressed in the Lok Sabha on December 8, 2025. The question, posed by Shri Rajkumar Roat, concerns the student-teacher ratio in primary and upper primary schools, compliance with the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and plans for non-compliant schools. The response refers to statements laid on the table of the House and available data from UDISE+ and other programs.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **NEP 2020 and Student-Teacher Ratio:**
* NEP 2020 recommends a pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) of under 30:1 in each school.
* NEP 2020 recommends a pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) of under 25:1 in areas with large numbers of socio-economically disadvantaged students.
* **UDISE+ Data Availability (2024-25):**
* Number of schools, enrollment, and teachers at primary and upper primary levels are available for States/UTs and Banswara and Dungarpur districts of Rajasthan.
* State/UT-wise Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) for Primary and Upper Primary levels of education is available.
* Percentage of schools having buildings and toilets in Banswara district are available.
* **Government Initiatives:**
* The Department of School Education and Literacy is implementing the revamped Samagra Shiksha scheme, aligned with NEP 2020.
* Annual plans are prepared by States and UTs per their requirements and priorities, as reflected in their Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B) Proposals.
* The PM SHRI Scheme aims to develop over 14,500 schools as exemplar schools, showcasing NEP 2020 initiatives.
**Impact Analysis**
**States and Union Territories**
* **Impact:** Responsible for implementing NEP 2020 and ensuring compliance with the prescribed norms and standards, including maintaining the recommended student-teacher ratios.
* **Action Required:** Prepare annual plans aligned with Samagra Shiksha guidelines, reflecting their priorities and requirements in the Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B) Proposals.
**Department of School Education & Literacy**
* **Impact:** Overseeing the implementation of Samagra Shiksha and the PM SHRI Scheme, ensuring alignment with NEP 2020 objectives.
* **Action Required:** Appraise and approve State/UT plans (AWP&B) based on programmatic and financial norms.
**Schools (Particularly Non-Compliant)**
* **Impact:** Affected by the potential for special packages or interventions to improve compliance with NEP 2020.
* **Action Required:** To offer leadership to other schools in the neighbourhood, showcasing all the initiatives of NEP 2020 through the PM SHRI scheme.
Key Entities Referenced
National Education Policy 2020: A national policy document that recommends a pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) of under 30:1 at the level of each school and under 25:1 in the areas having large numbers of socio-economically disadvantaged students
Samagra Shiksha: An integrated Centrally Sponsored Scheme for School Education implemented by the Department of School Education and Literacy from 2018-19 and revamped/redesigned and aligned with the recommendations of the National Education Policy, 2020
UDISE+: Unified District Information System for Education Plus, used to report data on schools, enrollment, and teachers
PM SHRI Scheme: A scheme launched with an aim to develop more than 14,500 selected schools as exemplar schools that offer leadership to other schools in the neighborhood, showcasing all the initiatives of NEP 2020.
Ministry of Education: Union ministry responsible for answering questions related to the student-teacher ratio and implementing education policies.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY
LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO – 114
ANSWERED ON 08/12/2025
Student-Teacher Ratio in Primary and Upper Primary Schools
†*114. Shri Rajkumar Roat:
Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:
(a) whether it is a fact that according to the new education policy schools should not have more than 10
per cent of teacher posts vacant and with a provision for one teacher for every 30 students in primary
schools and one teacher for every 35 students in upper primary schools in the country, if so, the number
of schools operating in the country in accordance with the said provisions, State/UT-wise;
(b) the number of schools in the Banswara Lok Sabha Constituency fulfilling the said criteria along with
the details of the approved, sanctioned and vacant posts of teachers in all the schools in Dungarpur and
Banswara district;
(c) the details of the student-teacher ratio in each of the said schools, district/block-wise along with the
name of the schools;
(d) the details of schools in the Banswara Lok Sabha Constituency not complying with the provisions of
the New Education Policy along with the number of schools which lack buildings and toilets in the said
Constituency; and
(e) whether the Government has any plan to issue special package for schools not complying with the new
education policy, if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF EDUCATION
(SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)
(a) to (e): A statement is laid on the table of the House.
******STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) TO (E) OF LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO. 114 ANSWERED ON 08/12/2025 ASKED BY HONB’LE MP
SHRI RAJKUMAR ROAT REGARDING ‘STUDENT-TEACHER RATIO IN PRIMARY
AND UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOLS’
(a) to (e): Education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution and most of the schools are under the
jurisdiction of concerned States and UTs. The major responsibility of implementation of NEP 2020
following prescribed norms and standards falls under the domain of the States and UTs. NEP 2020
recommends a pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) of under 30:1 at the level of each school and under 25:1 in
the areas having large numbers of socio-economically disadvantaged students.
As per UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education Plus), number of schools,
enrolment and teacher at primary and Upper Primary level of education for States/UTs and Banswara
and Dungarpur districts of Rajasthan for the year 2024-25 are available at
https://www.education.gov.in/en/parl_ques.
As per UDISE+ 2024-25, State/UT wise Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) for Primary and Upper
Primary level of education are available at https://www.education.gov.in/en/parl_ques.
As per UDISE+ 2024-25, percentage of schools having buildings, girl’s toilets, and boy’s
toilets in Banswara district are available at https://www.education.gov.in/en/parl_ques.
The Department of School Education and Literacy is implementing an integrated Centrally
Sponsored Scheme for School Education- Samagra Shiksha from 2018-19. The scheme has been
revamped/ redesigned and aligned with the recommendations of the National Education Policy, 2020.
As per norms of the Samagra Shiksha, the annual plans are prepared by the States and UTs as per
their requirements/ priority and the same is reflected in their respective Annual Work Plan and
Budget (AWP&B) Proposals. These plans are then appraised and approved by the Project Approval
Board (PAB) in the Department of School Education & Literacy in consultation with the States and
UTs as per the programmatic and financial norms of the scheme and physical and financial progress
of the State for the interventions approved earlier.
PM SHRI Scheme has also been launched with an aim to develop more than 14,500 selected
schools as exemplar schools that offer leadership to other schools in the neighbourhood, showcasing
all the initiatives of NEP 2020.
******