Over 5,000 Indian government schools have no students, with more than 70% in Bengal and Telangana

A surprising revelation from recent central government data shows that out of more than 10 lakh government schools across India, 5,149 have zero students enrolled in the 2024-25 academic year. Shockingly, over 70% of these empty schools are in just two states—Telangana with around 2,081 and West Bengal with 1,571. In Telangana, Nalgonda district tops the list nationwide with 315 such schools, followed by Mahabubabad (167) and Warangal (135).

This highlights growing concerns about access to education and school usage in certain regions. According to recent data for 2024-25, based on the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), also points to a rise in schools with very low enrollment. Nationwide, schools with fewer than 10 students have increased by 24% in two years, reaching 65,054. Despite no or few students, about 1.44 lakh teachers are posted in these schools, up from 1.26 lakh earlier.

In West Bengal, over 27,000 teachers work in low-enrollment setups, raising questions about resource use.This trend reflects challenges like parents choosing private schools, migration, or infrastructure issues, though exact reasons vary by area. The information was shared in Parliament, sparking discussions on how to revive these schools or merge them to better serve students and optimize teaching staff.