Chandigarh, July 17 -- 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 Rs.1,233 crore for Punjab for the current financial year.

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...