West Bengal weighs PPP option for 4,133 schools reporting zero enrolment

West Bengal government is examining whether schools that currently report no student enrolment can be revived through public-private partnerships or converted for other public uses, following a district-level assessment of their buildings, land and infrastructure.

The state School Education Department has asked district administrations to examine the 4,133 schools that reported zero enrolment in the 2025-26 UDISE+ data. District-level committees are expected to assess factors such as the location, condition and available infrastructure before recommending how individual school properties should be used.

According to a state education department official cited by IANS, the government is considering the PPP model for at least some of these institutions. A decision on the proposal is expected within the next month, although the official indicated that it is unlikely to apply to all 4,133 schools.

Schools that are not considered suitable for PPP projects could instead be considered for other public purposes, including training centres, health facilities or administrative use, depending on local requirements and the condition of the properties. Recent reporting has also confirmed that the state is examining alternative uses for these buildings and campuses.

Data will also be physically verified

The move follows the release of UDISE+ 2025-26 data, which recorded 5,663 schools with zero student enrolment across India. West Bengal accounted for 4,133 of them.

However, the state government has said the figures need verification. School Education Minister Dipak Barman said discrepancies in data uploaded by some schools could have contributed to institutions being shown as having teachers but no students. The government has therefore ordered physical inspections before deciding the future of the properties.

The issue is also linked to the uneven distribution of teachers in the state. UDISE+ data shows that 19,502 teachers are recorded against the 4,133 zero-enrolment schools. At the same time, 6,769 schools have only one teacher each while together accounting for 2,29,569 students.

Teachers may be shifted to schools with shortages

The state is also considering transferring teachers attached to zero-enrolment schools to nearby government schools where the teacher-student ratio is lower or staffing requirements are greater.

The proposal is part of a wider effort to rationalise teacher deployment. Earlier reporting said the state had already introduced a system for moving teachers from zero- and low-enrolment schools to institutions facing shortages.

For now, the future of the 4,133 schools will depend on the physical verification and district-level assessments. The government is expected to decide separately which institutions can be revived, which could be considered for PPP projects and which may be more suitable for other public purposes.

(With inputs from IANS)