Over 5,000 government schools sit empty with zero students; 70% in Telangana, West Bengal

NEW DELHI: Of 10.13 lakh government schools across India, 5,149 have no students at all. And more than 70 per cent of these schools reporting zero enrolment in the 2024-25 academic year are in Telangana and West Bengal, according to government data. The broader category of schools “with less than 10 or zero enrolment” has also seen a sharp surge, reveals data shared by the education ministry in Parliament recently.

The number of such government schools grew by 24 per cent over the last two years -- from 52,309 in 2022-23 to 65,054 in 2024-25. These schools now account for 6.42 per cent of the country's total government schools , the government said in a written reply to questions by MPs Karti P Chidambaram and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring in the Lok Sabha.

Telangana, West Bengal school enrollment

While Telangana has approximately 2,081 zero enrolment schools, West Bengal has 1,571 such institutions.

Telangana’s Nalgonda district recorded the highest number of empty schools in the state as well as the country at 315. Mahabubabad with 167 and Warangal with 135 are the next two districts with the highest number of such schools in the state, shows the data sourced from the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) .

In West Bengal, state capital Kolkata has 211 government schools with zero enrolment – the second highest in the country. Purba Medinipur with 177 and Dakshin Dinajpur with 147 follow as the next two highest in the state. Despite the lack of students, a large workforce remains deployed at these institutions.

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1.44 lakh teachers posted in government schools

Across India, 1.44 lakh teachers are currently posted 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 government schools in this low enrolment category, resulting in a ratio of approximately four teachers per school, according to government figures.

Similarly, Bihar has deployed 3,600 teachers for 730 such schools, averaging nearly five teachers per institution – more than double the national average of 2.2 for this category. The ministry said the recruitment and rational deployment of teachers fall under the purview of respective state governments. The data also showed a decline in the number of government schools since 2019-20 -- from 10.32 lakh to 10.13 lakh in 2024-25.