Archive · 26 Aug 2026
West Bengal Schools Show Stark Enrolment and Teacher Imbalances
New education data shows that schools in West Bengal have very different problems.
Some 4,133 schools have no students at all.
Yet 19,502 teachers are listed as working in those schools.
In contrast, 6,769 schools have only one teacher.
More than 2.29 lakh children attend those single-teacher schools.
The state has about 30 students for every teacher overall.
The education minister blamed alleged problems in teacher recruitment for some shortages.
He said teachers would be moved from schools with extra staff to schools that need them.
The government also said incomplete data from some private schools may make the situation look different.
West Bengal has 4,133 schools with zero enrolment, the second-highest figure nationally after the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
A total of 19,502 teachers are listed in schools with no students.
Another 6,769 schools have only one teacher serving more than 2.29 lakh students.
West Bengal has about 30 students per teacher, while its average school has only six teachers.
Education minister Dipak Barman blamed alleged recruitment irregularities and said teacher transfers and improved data uploads were being pursued.
- Who
- West Bengal schools, students and teachers, along with education minister Dipak Barman, are central to the report.
- What
- UDISE+ data shows 4,133 schools with zero enrolment, 6,769 single-teacher schools and major differences in teacher distribution.
- When
- The figures come from the latest UDISE+ data; no specific publication date is given.
- Where
- West Bengal, with comparisons involving the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Meghalaya.
- Why
- The reported imbalance has been attributed by the minister to alleged teacher-recruitment irregularities, while incomplete private-school data was also cited as affecting the overall picture.
UDISE+ Findings
Government Response
Teacher distribution
UDISE+ Findings
The data indicates that thousands of teachers are listed in schools with no students while thousands of students attend single-teacher schools.
Government Response
Dipak Barman blamed alleged irregularities in teacher recruitment over the past 15 years and said transfers from overstaffed schools to understaffed schools had begun.
Reliability of the overall picture
UDISE+ Findings
The reported figures highlight serious concerns about staffing, school enrolment and the use of public resources.
Government Response
The government said some private schools had not uploaded required student and teacher data, which could be distorting the state-wide picture.
- Zero-enrolment schools
- 4,133 in West Bengal
- Teachers in zero-enrolment schools
- 19,502 listed teachers
- Single-teacher schools
- 6,769
- Students in single-teacher schools
- More than 2.29 lakh
- Student-teacher ratio
- Around 30 students per teacher in West Bengal; Jharkhand has 36
- Average teachers per school
- Six in West Bengal
- Total schools
- 93,147, with around 8% having fewer than 10 students and 8.5% having more than 500