Lok Sabha Question No. 589 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-06
Subject: Poor Pupil-Teacher Ratio in Government Schools
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Chandeshwar Prasad

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 589 TO BE ANSWERED ON 6 th  FEBRUARY, 2023

Poor Pupil-Teacher Ratio in Government Schools

## 589. SHRI CHANDESHWAR PRASAD:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware that many schools in the country are having poor pupil-teacher ratio particularly in Government schools;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
- (c) whether the Government has issued any direction to the States to improve this ratio;
- (d) if so, the action taken by the State Governments thereon; and
- (e) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SMT. ANNPURNA DEVI)

- (a)  to  (e):  As  per  Right  of  Children  to  Free  and  Compulsory  Education  (RTE)  Act, 2009, the  Pupil-Teacher  Ratio  (PTR)  norms  for  primary  and  upper  primary  level  are 30:1 and 35:1 respectively. The PTR at national level for Government primary schools is  28:1  and  for  upper  primary  schools  is  24:1  as  per  UDISE  2021-22  (provisional), which is better than the prescribed norms, the state-wise detail of Pupil-Teacher ratio is placed at Annexure.

Education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution. The recruitment, service conditions and deployment of teachers come under the purview of the respective State and  Union  Territory  (UT)  Government.  The  recruitment  of  teachers  in  schools  is  a continuous process and the vacancies keep arising due to retirement, resignation and additional  requirements  on  account  of  enhanced  students'  strength/new  schools. Further, under Samagra Shiksha, Central Government provides assistance to the State Governments and UTs for additional teachers to maintain  appropriate  Pupil Teacher Ratio  as  per  the  prescribed  norms  for  various  levels  of  schooling.  The  Central Government has been consistently pursuing the matter of expeditious recruitment and redeployment of teachers with the States and UTs. Advisories to maintain appropriate Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) have also been issued to States and UTs from time to time.

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ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (B)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  589  TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  06.02.2023  ASKED  BY  HON'BLE  MP  SHRI CHANDESHWAR PRASAD REGARDING POOR PUPIL-TEACHER RATIO IN GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS

## State-wise Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) - 2021-22

|                                    | Government   | Government    |
|------------------------------------|--------------|---------------|
| States/UTs                         | Primary      | Upper Primary |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands          | 10           | 11            |
| Andhra Pradesh                     | 24           | 17            |
| Arunachal Pradesh                  | 11           | 10            |
| Assam                              | 23           | 18            |
| Bihar                              | 60           | 31            |
| Chandigarh                         | 36           | 19            |
| Chhattisgarh                       | 23           | 23            |
| Daman & Diu & Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 33           | 34            |
| Delhi                              | 40           | 39            |
| Goa                                | 15           | 12            |
| Gujarat                            | 30           | 26            |
| Haryana                            | 32           | 25            |
| Himachal Pradesh                   | 15           | 11            |
| Jammu & Kashmir                    | 13           | 9             |
| Jharkhand                          | 33           | 38            |
| Karnataka                          | 20           | 16            |
| Kerala                             | 26           | 29            |
| Ladakh                             | 5            | 3             |
| Lakshadweep                        | 17           | 16            |
| Madhya Pradesh                     | 25           | 34            |
| Maharashtra                        | 22           | 25            |
| Manipur                            | 10           | 12            |
| Meghalaya                          | 20           | 13            |
| Mizoram                            | 14           | 7             |
| Nagaland                           | 7            | 5             |
| Odisha                             | 19           | 19            |
| Puducherry                         | 19           | 15            |
| Punjab                             | 25           | 24            |
| Rajasthan                          | 26           | 16            |
| Sikkim                             | 5            | 9             |
| Tamil Nadu                         | 25           | 18            |
| Telangana                          | 25           | 16            |
| Tripura                            | 19           | 22            |
| Uttar Pradesh                      | 29           | 33            |
| Uttarakhand                        | 18           | 18            |
| West Bengal                        | 29           | 35            |
| India                              | 28           | 24            |

(Source: UDISE+ 2021-22)