22,298 unrecognised schools in India, 721 in Haryana: Report

Of 22,298 unrecognised schools in India, Haryana has 721 such schools, a report said.

According to the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+) report, these schools in Haryana have 84,276 students and 5,371 teachers.

These unrecognised schools have been flagged for not adhering to the Right to Education (RTE) 2009 Act even after more than a decade of the implementation of the Act. The Ministry of Education in December had urged the states to take action on 22,298 unrecognised schools by March.

Chandigarh has 29 unrecognised schools operational with 7,977 students and 404 students, while Rajasthan has 29 such schools with 1,634 students and 75 teachers.

Uttarakhand also features in the list, with 92 teachers teaching 1,077 students in 16 such schools. Jammu & Kashmir has 15 schools with 1,160 students and 98 teachers.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) of 2009 requires schools to have separate toilets for boys and schools, drinking water facility, kitchen for mid-day meals and a playground. If a school does not adhere to the RTE guidelines, the state education department has to cancel the licence of the school.

The report also states that there are 12,954 schools in India with zero students. However, these schools have employed 31,981 teachers.

Punjab has 15 schools with zero enrollment and 35 teachers are employed with the schools. Haryana has 81 such schools with 178 teachers. In Himachal Pradesh, there are six schools with zero students and 10 teachers.

Rajasthan has 2,167 schools with zero enrollments and 4,398 teachers. Chandigarh and Delhi have zero schools with no enrollment.

With 3,254 and 2,097 schools with zero enrollments in West Bengal and Telangana, respectively, these states hold the dubious distinction of having such schools.