2,670 single-teacher schools still functioning in Assam: Ranoj Pegu

GUWAHATI, Feb 20: Assam currently has 2,670 single-teacher primary schools, more than 13,000 schools without permanent headmasters and thousands of subject teacher’s posts lying vacant across different levels, the Assembly was informed on Thursday.

Replying to a question by MLA Akhil Gogoi, Education Minister Dr Ranoj Pegu stated that although there are no government primary schools without teachers in 2025-26, a total of 2,670 schools continue to function with only one teacher.

On teacher deployment, the minister said 4,041 five-class schools have five or more teachers, excluding headmasters, while 1,733 six-class schools have six or more teachers.

Infrastructure gaps were also reflected in the data placed before the House. Only 5,083 five-class schools have five or more classrooms, while a large number of schools lack adequate classrooms. Among six-class schools, just 1,530 have the required classrooms, whereas 21,839 schools do not meet the norm, highlighting space constraints in many institutions.

The House was further informed that 13,614 primary schools and 3,402 upper primary schools are functioning without permanent headmasters, pointing to continuing leadership shortages in the school system.

Vacancies of subject teachers remain substantial across levels. Upper primary schools have 4,805 vacant posts, including assistant, Hindi and science teachers. High schools account for 7,396 vacancies across science, mathematics, arts and Hindi subjects, while higher secondary schools have 242 vacant posts in science, mathematics, English and Hindi.

In Sixth Schedule districts, vacancies include 713 posts in high schools and 76 in higher secondary schools.

Data shared in the Assembly also showed a decline in the number of government schools in Assam due to the government’s policy of merger of schools. As per UDISE+ figures, the total number of government primary, upper primary, high and higher secondary schools decreased from 52,228 in 2016-17 to 44,300 in 2024-25.

While the government maintained that no primary school is functioning without teachers, the figures presented in the House pointed to continuing concerns related to staffing adequacy, institutional leadership and infrastructure availability across the State’s school education system.

By 

Staff Reporter