Archive · 25 Aug 2026
Bengal Has 4,133 Student-Less Schools, Central Report Finds
A government education report says some schools in West Bengal have no students listed.
It says 4,133 schools in the state are in this situation.
However, 19,502 teachers are assigned to those schools.
The report also says 6,769 schools have only one teacher for 2,29,569 students.
Across India, 5,663 schools have no students recorded.
West Bengal has almost three-quarters of these schools.
Uttar Pradesh has the second-highest number, with 313.
Minister Dipak Barman says some private schools may have entered incorrect information online.
West Bengal has 4,133 schools reporting no enrolled students.
A total of 19,502 teachers are deputed at those schools.
The state also has 6,769 single-teacher schools serving 2,29,569 students.
West Bengal accounts for nearly 73% of India’s 5,663 student-less schools.
School Education Minister Dipak Barman blamed some private schools’ data-uploading errors.
- Who
- West Bengal schools, teachers, students, the central education authorities, and School Education Minister Dipak Barman.
- What
- A UDISE+ report records 4,133 student-less schools and 19,502 teachers in West Bengal, alongside thousands of single-teacher schools.
- When
- The data is from UDISE+ 2025-26; the report was published in July and uploaded in August.
- Where
- West Bengal, with comparisons to Uttar Pradesh and nationwide figures in India.
- Why
- Dipak Barman attributed the reported disparities to errors by some private schools while uploading data to the central portal.
Central Report’s Findings
State Minister’s Explanation
Reported school disparities
Central Report’s Findings
The UDISE+ data shows 4,133 West Bengal schools with no students but 19,502 deputed teachers, as well as 6,769 single-teacher schools serving 2,29,569 students.
State Minister’s Explanation
School Education Minister Dipak Barman said the disparities resulted from errors made by some private schools while uploading information to the central portal.
Scale of the issue
Central Report’s Findings
The report says West Bengal accounts for almost 73% of India’s 5,663 student-less schools.
State Minister’s Explanation
The minister’s explanation suggests the reported figures may partly reflect inaccurate or incorrectly uploaded data rather than the actual situation in every school.
- West Bengal student-less schools
- 4,133
- Teachers in those schools
- 19,502
- West Bengal single-teacher schools
- 6,769
- Students in single-teacher schools
- 2,29,569
- Student-less schools across India
- 5,663
- Uttar Pradesh student-less schools
- 313, with 177 teachers posted there
- Data source
- Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2025-26