Adverse pupil-teacher ratios, a rise in single-teacher schools and teacher vacancies — all pointing to a severe teacher crunch — along with a poor retention rate at the secondary level in government schools are among the key concerns flagged by the Union ministry of education while approving an outlay of ₹1,233 crore for Punjab for the current financial year.
Event Context
Team Analysis
The issues were raised by the ministry during the Project Approval Board (PAB) meeting last month to consider Punjab’s annual work plan and budget for 2026-27 under Samagra Shiksha – the Centre’s flagship school education programme.
The meeting, chaired by the then Union secretary, school education and literacy, Sanjay Kumar, was attended by Punjab’s school education secretary Sonali Giri and state project director MK Aravind Kumar, and other officials.
The central ministry, which highlighted areas requiring the state government’s urgent attention, noted that the proportion of government schools with an adverse pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) increased from 18.6% in 2023-24 to 19.9% in 2024-25.
It advised the state to undertake a detailed review and take appropriate corrective measures to ensure compliance with norms and guidelines issued from time to time.
Punjab has 19,243 government schools, including 12,818 primary schools, 2,630 middle schools, and 3,796 secondary schools.
Match Outlook
A school education department official said Punjab was recently ranked as the best-performing state in the Union education ministry’s Performance Grading Index (PGI) rankings for school education based on parameters such as infrastructure, learning outcomes and teacher education. “The department will examine the issues raised by the central ministry and take corrective measures wherever required. If there are any shortcomings, these will be addressed,” said the official, requesting anonymity.
30% posts vacant at secondary level, rise in single-teacher schools
Of the ₹1,233 crore approved by the PAB, ₹723 crore will be contributed by the central government, while the state government will provide ₹482 crore. The budget, which includes a spillover of ₹176.51 crore, has been sanctioned to meet the expenditure on new and ongoing programmes for improving the quality of education, upgrading school infrastructure, pre-primary education, teacher training, and vocational education.
Fresh outlay (excluding spillover) of ₹734 crore has been sanctioned for elementary schools and ₹300 crore for secondary schools for strengthening existing schools, Right to Education (RTE) entitlements such as free uniforms and free textbooks, learning enhancement programme, study trips, early childhood care and education, and solar panels in elementary schools.
Another sum of ₹23 crore has been earmarked for teacher education. The programme follows a 60:40 Centre-State funding ratio.
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The MoE also said the overall teacher vacancy of around 30% at the secondary level was worrisome as the absence of subject-specific teachers could adversely affect the effective functioning of secondary schools. “The state has been asked to expedite the recruitment process to ensure adequate availability of teachers in secondary schools. The state informed that the recruitment of 1,013 teachers has been notified,” according to the minutes of the meeting dated June 18.
The ministry noted that all 10,661 elementary teacher posts and 2,026 sanctioned under the programme had been filled.
Another major concern is the sharp increase in single-teacher government schools in Punjab. The number of single-teacher government primary schools rose from 1,884 schools in 2023-24 to 2,158 in 2024-25, which constitute 17% of all government primary schools in the state.
At the upper primary level, the number increased from 137 to 208 during the same period. The PAB has advised Punjab to undertake a comprehensive review, take corrective measures and ensure compliance with the Right to Education norms at all levels.
State advised to rein in decline in enrolment
The ministry also highlighted the decline in student enrolment in government schools, which fell below that of private schools in 2024-25.
Another ministry report recently flagged a 9% drop in student enrolment at pre-primary, primary and upper primary levels in government schools during the 2025-26 academic year, taking it to 17.34 lakh in 2025-26 from 19.10 lakh in the previous academic year. Of the 12,818 primary schools, 2,119 (16.5%) have an enrolment of less than 30 students.
The state government has been advised to strengthen government schools retain students with enhanced infrastructure and quality learning experiences and take measures to improve the situation.
Centre to provide ₹723 crore
