Across India, thousands of government schools continue to operate in name—complete with sanctioned teachers, standing buildings, and annual budget allocations—despite having no students at all. They appear on official registers, receive public funds, and are staffed year after year. Yet their classrooms remain empty.
New data presented in Parliament for the 2024–25 academic year brings this quiet contradiction into sharp focus. According to the figures, 5,149 government schools across the country reported zero student enrolment—not a single child on their rolls. The data covers a national school system of over 10.13 lakh government institutions, making the absolute number appear modest. But the pattern behind it tells a far more troubling story.
These are not isolated anomalies. They represent a systemic disconnect between where schools are located, where children now live, and how families make schooling choices in a rapidly changing India.
A Problem Concentrated, Not Scattered
What makes the phenomenon especially striking is its geographical concentration. Nearly 70 per cent of India’s zero-enrolment government schools are located in just two states—Telangana and West Bengal. Far from being evenly distributed, these “ghost schools” cluster tightly in specific districts, exposing regional planning failures rather than a nationwide collapse in enrolment.
At the district level, the pattern becomes even clearer. Across the country, around 100 districts report ten or more government schools with zero students. Every one of Telangana’s 33 districts falls into this category. In West Bengal, 22 of 23 districts do as well. This is not about depopulated regions or disappearing children. These districts still report tens of thousands of enrolled students—just not in these schools.
The implication is unavoidable: schools, students, and communities are no longer aligned.
The Scale of Under-Enrolment
Zero-enrolment schools are only the most extreme symptom. The broader picture of under-utilisation is far larger. Government data shows that:
- 5,149 schools have zero students
- 65,054 schools have fewer than 10 students
- Around 1.44 lakh teachers are posted in schools with zero or near-zero enrolment
The number of severely under-enrolled schools has risen sharply—from 52,309 in 2022–23 to 65,054 in 2024–25, an increase of nearly 24 per cent in just two years. This is not a temporary fluctuation. It signals a structural drift in the school system.
Where the Burden Is Heaviest
West Bengal records the highest number of under-enrolled schools, with 6,703 institutions reporting fewer than ten or zero students, staffed by 27,348 teachers. This is despite the state seeing a gradual decline in the total number of government schools over time. The under-enrolment is spread across rural and semi-urban districts, suggesting not population loss but a steady migration of families toward private or aided schools, particularly at the primary level.
Uttar Pradesh follows closely, with 6,561 such schools and 22,166 teachers. Here, the issue is less about concentrated collapse and more about scale. With 1.37 lakh government schools—the highest in India— consolidation has lagged behind demographic change, leaving many schools redundant.
Maharashtra reports 6,552 under-enrolled schools, often in tribal and rural belts affected by migration. Rajasthan has 5,235, concentrated in desert and tribal districts where long travel distances and seasonal movement disrupt attendance. Telangana, despite having a relatively stable total school count of around 30,000, stands out for the intensity of district-level zero enrolment. Every district reports multiple empty schools.
Where the System Is Holding
Not all states face this crisis at the same scale. Kerala reports 228 under-enrolled schools, a number that has steadily declined due to proactive school mergers and transport support. Goa, Delhi, Sikkim, and Punjab also show relatively limited impact. Several Union Territories—including Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu—report no zero-enrolment schools at all.
The contrast is instructive. Where planning adapts to demographic change and political resistance to consolidation is managed, the problem remains contained.
Why Schools Lose Students
The reasons behind empty schools are layered and interconnected. First is parental choice. Across multiple states, families increasingly opt for private or aided schools—often low-cost ones—driven by perceptions of better English instruction, infrastructure, or accountability.
Second is supply mismatch. Many zero-enrolment schools are small, rural institutions set up decades ago when settlement patterns were different. As populations cluster and transport improves unevenly, children move toward fewer, larger schools—leaving micro-schools behind.
Third is administrative inertia. Closing or merging a school is politically sensitive. It can trigger protests, accusations of neglect, and electoral backlash. As a result, states often maintain schools on paper rather than confront the political cost of rationalisation.
Finally, migration and remoteness play a role. Seasonal migration in tribal and agrarian belts pulls children out for months at a time. In such regions, enrolment collapses without triggering formal closure.
The District-Level Paradox
Perhaps the most revealing insight lies beneath the surface. Many districts with high numbers of zero-enrolment schools also report strong enrolment among SC, ST, and minority students elsewhere. Children are not absent from education. They are simply studying in different institutions—sometimes farther away, sometimes outside the government system altogether.
This creates a stark contradiction: schools exist with no students, while students travel longer distances or drop out altogether. Public money sustains buildings and salaries even as educational access becomes more fragile for the most vulnerable.
Empty Schools, Ongoing Dropouts
At first glance, empty schools and high dropout rates seem contradictory. In reality, they are part of the same failure. Younger children shift schools; older students—especially girls, migrant children, and economically vulnerable groups—exit the system entirely when distance, cost, or instability becomes too great.
India does not suffer from a lack of schools. It suffers from schools in the wrong places, of uneven quality, and slow adaptation to social change.
A Policy Choice With No Easy Answers
Merging schools appears efficient on paper but can force children to travel five to ten kilometres daily—often leading to absenteeism and eventual dropout. Keeping micro-schools open preserves access but risks poor learning outcomes and declining trust.
This is the policy tightrope India now walks. Maintain inefficient schools, or consolidate and risk excluding those already on the margins.
What the data ultimately exposes is not just a bureaucratic anomaly, but a deeper question: Should schools exist because communities need them—or because the system finds it easier not to close them?
Until that question is confronted directly, India’s ghost schools will continue to stand—funded, staffed, and silent.
