1,330 institutions run by single teacher, 119 without students; rationalization process initiated; schools lack toilets, ramps for disabled students
Arteev Sharma
Jammu, July 30: The education system in Jammu and Kashmir continues to grapple with glaring administrative inefficiencies, with irrational deployment of teachers in government-run schools severely affecting the quality of education, particularly in far-off and hilly areas of the Union Territory.
According to the latest official data tabled in the Rajya Sabha, as many as 1,330 government schools in the Union Territory are functioning with only a single teacher, catering to over 31,000 enrolled students. In a contrasting scenario, at-least 119 schools with zero student enrolment have 238 teachers posted—an average of two teachers per school.
The statistics were revealed by Union Minister of State for Education, Jayant Chaudhary, while responding to a question on infrastructure in government schools.
Referring to the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report for the year 2023-24, the minister informed the Upper House that Jammu and Kashmir has 24,296 schools, enrolling 26.29 lakh students, and 1,67,046 teachers.
“The average number of teachers per school is seven, while the average student enrolment per school stands at 108,” the report stated, underlining the glaring imbalance in teacher allocation across the Union Territory.
A senior official from the School Education Department, requesting anonymity, admitted the persistent issue of irrational deployment of teachers, regretting, “This irrational deployment of human resources not only exposes inefficiencies in the department but also raises serious concerns about the future of thousands of students dependent on the public schooling system.”
The official further revealed that the department has recently formed district-level committees comprising senior officers and government school teachers to initiate a comprehensive rationalization process. This includes redeployment of teaching staff from schools that have either been merged or closed due to zero or low student enrolment, in a bid to streamline the teacher-student ratio across the Union Territory.
Furthermore, infrastructure in government schools also remains far from ideal. The UDISE+ data shows that while 18,054 schools have playgrounds, only 4,664 schools have functional kitchen gardens—a project launched with much fanfare but it failed to produce expected results.
Furthermore, the report revealed disturbing gaps in basic amenities. “Over 2,000 schools don’t have separate toilet facility for girls’ students, while over 3,000 schools lack toilet facility for boys. Almost over 3,500 schools even don’t have electricity facility,” the report said.
It further said, “The installation of solar panels too move at snail’s pace as only 4145 schools have solar panels”. Accessibility remains another concern, as only 42% of schools have ramps for Children With Special Needs (CWSN).
In the era of digitization, only a little over 10,000 schools have computers, and just half of all government schools in J&K have internet access, the report added.
This grim scenario persists despite significant central government funding. Under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, a flagship scheme aimed at improving school infrastructure and education quality, the Centre sanctioned Rs 1,721.60 crore for J&K in 2024–25, of which Rs 823.49 crore has already been released.
Samagra Shiksha, which envisions holistic development of school education from pre-primary to Grade 12, supports infrastructure creation including classrooms, libraries, toilets, ramps, and rainwater harvesting facilities. However, the implementation on the ground continues to fall short.
