Zero Admission Schools: Zero Admissions in a Year, Nearly 20,000 Teachers! No Students in 8000 Schools, Bengal at the Top?
Zero Admission Schools: A concerning picture of the education sector has emerged from a recent central report. Across the country, there are thousands of schools where not a single new student was admitted for the 2024-25 academic year. Astonishingly, nearly 20,000 teachers are employed in these zero-admission schools. In this alarming report, West Bengal has topped the list among all states.
According to data released from New Delhi, nearly eight thousand schools across the country saw no new student admissions in the last year, with Bengal leading this list.
What Does the Central Report Say?
As per the report from the Union Ministry of Education, a total of 7,993 schools across the country did not admit any new students in the past year. However, this figure shows a slight improvement compared to the previous year. The report states that last year, the number of such schools nationwide was 12,954, which has decreased by about 5,000 this year.
The main cause for concern, however, is the situation in the states that top this list of zero-admission schools. West Bengal holds the first position in the country in this regard.
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According to central data, the states of West Bengal, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh have the highest number of zero-admission schools. The statistics for these three states are presented in the table below:
| State | Number of Zero-Admission Schools | Number of Working Teachers |
|---|---|---|
| West Bengal | 3,812 | 17,965 |
| Telangana | 2,245 | 1,016 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 463 | 223 |
These figures clearly show that in West Bengal alone, 3,812 schools had no new student intake, yet 17,965 teachers are employed there. Following Bengal in this list are Telangana and Madhya Pradesh. Even in Uttar Pradesh, 81 such schools have been identified.
Centre’s Response
Speaking to the news agency PTI, an official from the Union Education Department stated, ‘School education is the responsibility of the state. We will advise the state governments to investigate why such a situation is arising and take appropriate action accordingly.’
It is noteworthy that states like Haryana, Maharashtra, Goa, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura reported no such zero-admission schools. Furthermore, no such schools were found in any of the Union Territories, which highlights the gravity of the situation in the affected states.
