Pupil-Teacher Ratio under the RTE Act

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 prescribes how many teachers an elementary school must have for its enrolled pupils in Classes I-VIII. Its Schedule uses enrolment-based staffing slabs for Classes I-V and a numerical ratio plus subject requirements for Classes VI-VIII.

Statutory basis

Under Section 25, the appropriate government and local authority must ensure that the pupil-teacher ratio specified in the Schedule is maintained in each school. Thus, compliance is school-specific rather than based merely on an overall state or district average.

Classes I-V

For the primary stage, staffing is prescribed through enrolment slabs rather than one uniform ratio.

• For admitted children, the required teachers are: up to 60: two; 61-90: three; 91-120: four; 121-200: five.
• Where enrolment exceeds 150, the school must additionally have one head-teacher.
• Where enrolment exceeds 200, the pupil-teacher ratio, excluding the head-teacher, must not exceed 40:1.

Classes VI-VIII

At the upper-primary stage, the Schedule combines a general ratio with class-wise and subject-wise staffing requirements.

• There must be at least one teacher for every 35 children and at least one teacher per class.
• The school must have at least one teacher each for Science and Mathematics, Social Studies, and Languages.
• Where enrolment exceeds 100, a full-time head-teacher and part-time instructors for Art Education, Health and Physical Education, and Work Education are required.