Bhubaneswar, July 21: Across Odisha, as many as 1,458 schools operate with just a single teacher in 2025-26 academic session, up from 1,089 in 2024-25 and 1,065 in 2023-24, according to the latest Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report released by the Union Ministry of Education.

Hence, the latest figure witnesses an increase of 369 schools (nearly 34%), in just one academic year, and 393 schools (nearly 37%) over the past two academic sessions - 2024-25 and 2025-26 - in the State.

According to the reports, most solo-teacher schools are located in remote, tribal and sparsely populated areas.

Despite the State Government’s ongoing teacher recruitment drive, the problem has triggered a concern among students, parents and academicians.

As a result, nearly 60,000 students are dependent on just one teacher to teach all classes and subjects.

There are 61,565 schools, including Government, aided and private institutions in the State.