A recent and rather startling revelation from the Ministry of Education (MoE) indicates a significant imbalance within India’s education system. In the 2024–25 academic session, nearly 8,000 schools across the nation reported having zero student enrollment. Despite this absence of pupils, these institutions collectively employed more than 20,000 teachers, raising pertinent questions about resource management and educational efficiency.
The data pinpoints West Bengal as having the highest concentration of these ‘zero-enrolment’ schools, accounting for 3,812 institutions and a staggering 17,965 teachers. Following closely behind are Telangana with 2,245 such schools and 1,016 teachers, and Madhya Pradesh with 463 schools and 223 teachers. This geographic distribution underscores regional disparities in educational planning and student retention.
Interestingly, several states and Union Territories have successfully avoided this issue entirely. Haryana, Maharashtra, Goa, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu, and Delhi all reported no schools with zero student enrollment.
In response to these findings, the MoE has issued an advisory urging states to take decisive action. A senior official emphasized that while school education falls under state jurisdiction, the ministry recommends merging or optimizing these schools. The goal is to ensure the efficient utilization of valuable resources, including both infrastructure and teaching staff, thereby streamlining the educational landscape.
The issue of non-performing schools isn’t limited to zero enrollment. Beyond these vacant classrooms, over 33 lakh students nationwide are enrolled in more than 1 lakh ‘single-teacher’ schools. Andhra Pradesh leads in the number of these solitary-teacher institutions, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Lakshadweep. When it comes to the highest student enrollment in single-teacher schools, Uttar Pradesh tops the list, followed by Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh.
Encouragingly, there has been a positive trend in reducing the number of single-teacher schools, with a six percent decrease from 1,18,190 in 2022–23 to 1,10,971 in 2023–24. Furthermore, Uttar Pradesh’s Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UP Board) has announced plans to revoke the recognition of affiliated schools that have reported zero student enrollment for three consecutive academic years, indicating a move towards greater accountability.
These statistics highlight the ongoing challenges and reform efforts needed to ensure every child in India has access to quality education, and that public resources are used effectively.