New Delhi, August 5
At a time when the county is facing a shortage of educational institutions, over 32,000 schools do not have a single student, a government survey has revealed.
These institutions, 48 per cent of which are primary schools, are located mostly in the rural areas and are in the public sector, said the report “Elementary Education in India 2005-06” that was prepared by National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA).
The survey, covering 11,24,033 schools in 35 states and union territories, found that 2.92 per cent of these schools had zero enrolment. Karnataka had the highest number of such schools, standing at 7,945.
While 15,791 were primary schools, the rest were upper primary, secondary and higher secondary schools, the report said. Similarly, 69,353 schools, have less than 25 students. There were 1,70,888 schools with a strength between 26 and 50, the study found.
The percentage of schools with low enrolment was less in Bihar, Delhi, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, it said. All the schools together had an average enrolment of 150.
“The main reason for zero enrolment is that the schools don’t either have a single teacher or they may be having para-teachers,” Sailendra Sharma, a lecturer of NUEPA who was associated with the survey, said.
— PTI
