The number of single-teacher schools in India has dropped by over 7,200 in the 2023-24 academic year, according to the latest Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report. The count of such schools fell from 1,18,190 in 2022-23 to 1,10,971 in 2023-24.
Madhya Pradesh leads with the highest number of single-teacher schools, at 13,198, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 12,611. Enrollment in these schools also dropped significantly, from 47.43 lakh in 2022-23 to 39.94 lakh in 2023-24.
Meanwhile, the number of schools with zero enrollments has risen. In 2023-24, 12,954 schools reported no students, up from 10,294 the previous year. West Bengal has the most such schools, with 3,254, followed by Rajasthan with 2,167, and Telangana with 2,097.
The rise in zero-enrollment schools is due to various reasons. In some cases, the last batch of students has graduated, leaving no new enrollments. However, teachers are still assigned to these schools. State governments are giving it another year before considering closures. If enrollment doesn’t increase, the schools may be shut down to prevent students from losing access.
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