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NEW DELHI: As many as 5,149 government schools across India reported zero student enrolment in the 2024–25 academic year, with over 70 per cent of these schools located in Telangana and West Bengal, according to government data shared in Parliament.
Out of 10.13 lakh government schools nationwide, the Education Ministry has also flagged a sharp rise in institutions categorised as having “less than 10 or zero enrolment”. The number of such schools increased by 24 per cent over the last two years, from 52,309 in 2022–23 to 65,054 in 2024–25.
These low-enrolment schools now account for 6.42 per cent of all government schools in the country, the ministry said in a written reply to Lok Sabha questions by MPs Karti P. Chidambaram and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.
State-wise data shows that Telangana has 2,081 schools with zero enrolment, the highest in the country, followed by West Bengal with 1,571 such schools.
District-level figures from the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) reveal that Nalgonda district in Telangana recorded the highest number of empty schools nationally at 315, followed by Mahabubabad (167) and Warangal (135).
In West Bengal, Kolkata has 211 government schools with no students, the second-highest figure among districts. Purba Medinipur reported 177, while Dakshin Dinajpur had 147 such schools.
Despite negligible or zero enrolment, a significant number of teachers continue to be posted at these institutions. Across India, 1.44 lakh teachers are currently deployed in government schools with fewer than 10 students or no enrolment, up from 1.26 lakh in 2022–23.
In West Bengal, 27,348 teachers are assigned to 6,703 low-enrolment government schools, averaging around four teachers per school, according to official data. Bihar shows an even higher concentration, with 3,600 teachers posted across 730 such schools, averaging nearly five teachers per school, more than double the national average of 2.2 teachers for this category.
The Education Ministry clarified that the recruitment and rational deployment of teachers falls under the jurisdiction of the respective state governments.
The data also points to a gradual decline in the overall number of government schools, which fell from 10.32 lakh in 2019–20 to 10.13 lakh in 2024–25.(Agencies)
