Alarming Enrolment Decline: Over 65K Indian Government Schools Near Empty

New data from India's Ministry of Education reveals over 65,000 government schools have less than 10 students, and over 5,000 have zero enrolments for 2024-25. Concentrated in Telangana and West Bengal, this marks a 24% rise in low-enrolment schools, spotlighting mismatches in resources and student presence.

In a concerning trend for Indian education, data from the Ministry of Education has disclosed that more than 65,000 government schools nationwide are functioning with fewer than 10 students enrolled, and over 5,000 schools have recorded zero student enrolment for the academic year 2024-25.

This information, revealed via a written reply to MPs Karti P. Chidambaram and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring in the Lok Sabha, highlights significant regional disparities, with over 70 percent of these zero-enrolment schools located in Telangana and West Bengal. The data, drawn from the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), shows a 24 percent increase in schools with critically low enrolment over two years.

The issue now affects 6.42 percent of all government schools, indicating a severe mismatch between available educational resources and student attendance. Over 1.44 lakh teachers were assigned to these low-enrolment institutions, intensifying questions about resource allocation and deployment. The Ministry noted that education administration and teacher deployment fall under state jurisdiction, with support from the Centre via the Samagra Shiksha program.

(With inputs from agencies.)