Srinagar, Jul 09: Jammu and Kashmir has emerged among the best-performing regions in the country in terms of the Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR), with teacher availability remaining well within the targets envisaged under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the Right to Education (RTE) Act.
However, the latest national education data also points to another challenge, i.e. the schools in the Union Territory have relatively low student enrolment, suggesting underutilisation of educational infrastructure.
According to the UDISE+ Report 2025-26 – NEP Structure, released by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, on July 07, 2026, Jammu and Kashmir has an overall PTR of 16, significantly better than the NEP-recommended norm of 30:1.
Across pedagogical stages, the UT maintains favourable ratios of around 10 at the Foundational level, 8-9 at Preparatory, 16 at Middle and 16 at Secondary, placing it among the better-performing States and Union Territories.
The report notes that a lower PTR enables teachers to provide greater individual attention, strengthen classroom interaction and improve learning outcomes.
However, the data also shows that Jammu and Kashmir has an average of only 126 students per school, much lower than the national average of 215 students per school. While this is considerably higher than Ladakh (64 students per school), it remains well below densely populated regions such as Chandigarh (1,194 students per school), Delhi (788) and Kerala (384).
The report observes that States and UTs with very low student numbers per school including Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Meghalaya may need to optimise school infrastructure for better resource utilisation.
In contrast, Chandigarh and Delhi have managed to maintain both high enrolment per school and PTR levels within RTE norms, indicating efficient use of educational infrastructure.
The findings underline that while Jammu and Kashmir has made substantial progress in ensuring adequate teacher availability; improving enrolment density and optimising school infrastructure remain key challenges for the education sector.
