Over 20,000 teachers posted in schools with zero enrollment: Data

Nearly 8,000 schools across India reported no student enrollment during the 2024–25 academic year, with West Bengal accounting for the highest share, followed by Telangana, according to data from the Ministry of Education.

The latest statistics show that 7,993 schools had zero students this year, a sharp drop from 12,954 the previous year.

Despite the absence of students, more than 20,000 teachers were still posted in such schools. West Bengal alone had 3,812 schools without enrollment and 17,965 teachers on the rolls, making it an outlier among all states.

Telangana reported the second-highest number of schools without students at 2,245, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 463.

These states had 1,016 and 223 teachers, respectively, employed in these institutions. Uttar Pradesh also reported 81 schools with no enrollment.

Some states, including Haryana, Maharashtra, Goa, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura, reported no schools with zero enrollment.

Among Union Territories, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu, and Chandigarh also reported full student strength. Delhi, too, had no such schools.

A senior official from the Education Ministry said the issue primarily falls under state jurisdiction.

“School education is a state subject. States have been advised to address the issue of zero enrollments in schools. Some states have merged certain schools for optimum utilization of resources such as infrastructure and staff,” the official said.

Uttar Pradesh’s education board has already begun derecognizing schools that have shown zero student enrollment for three consecutive academic sessions.

The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UP Board) has identified such institutions and is in the process of canceling their affiliations.

The report also revealed that more than 33 lakh students nationwide are studying in over 1 lakh single-teacher schools.

Andhra Pradesh had the largest number of such schools, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Lakshadweep.

In terms of the number of students studying in single-teacher schools, Uttar Pradesh topped the list, followed by Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh.

The total number of single-teacher schools fell from 118,190 in 2022–23 to 110,971 in 2023–24, marking a decline of about 6%.