About 8,000 schools with zero enrolment employ 20,000 teachers in India: Ministry data
New Delhi(PTI): Close to 8,000 schools across the country had zero enrolments during the 2024-25 academic session, with West Bengal accounting for most such schools, followed by Telangana, according to official data.
A total of 20,817 teachers were employed in the schools with zero enrolments. In a peculiar case, West Bengal accounted for 17,965 such teachers, along with the highest number of schools without enrolments (3,812).
According to the Ministry of Education's statistics, 7,993 schools had zero enrolments, down by over 5,000 from the previous year's count of 12,954.
Meanwhile, Haryana, Maharashtra, Goa, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura had no such schools.
"School education is a state subject, states have been advised to address the issue of zero enrolments in schools. Some states have merged some schools for optimum utilisation of resources such as infrastructure as well as staff," a senior official told PTI.
There were no schools with zero enrolment in the Union Territories of Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu, and Chandigarh, according to the data.
Delhi also had no schools with zero enrolments.
The second highest number of such schools was in Telangana (2,245), followed by Madhya Pradesh (463). While Telangana had 1,016 teachers employed in these schools, Madhya Pradesh employed 223.
Uttar Pradesh had 81 such schools. The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UP Board) had announced that it is preparing to revoke the recognition of its affiliated schools across the state that have recorded zero student enrolment for the past three consecutive academic years.
Over 33 lakh students across the country are enrolled in more than 1 lakh single-teacher schools, with Andhra Pradesh recording the highest number of these schools, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Lakshadweep.
However, when it comes to student enrolment in schools with a single teacher, Uttar Pradesh tops the list, followed by Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh.
The number of single-teacher schools decreased from 1,18,190 in 2022–23 to 1,10,971 in 2023–24, recording a drop of around six per cent.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
