WAJAHAT SHABIR
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir has 146 schools reporting zero student enrolment despite having 61 teachers posted against them, while another 1,371 schools are functioning with only a single teacher, according to the NITI Aayog report School Education System in India: Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement.
The report, based on UDISE+ data, has flagged the presence of zero-enrolment and single-teacher schools as a broader systemic challenge affecting the efficiency of school education. In J&K, the 1,371 single-teacher schools together have 32,303 students, highlighting the continuing challenges of teacher availability and effective resource deployment, particularly in smaller and remote schools.
According to the report, zero-enrolment schools can continue to appear as operational institutions in administrative records even though they no longer serve any student population. Such schools may continue to receive financial and human resources, creating a gap between administrative records and the situation on the ground.
The report identifies small, under-enrolled, single-teacher and non-functional schools as part of a larger school-provisioning challenge. It notes that multi-grade classrooms are common in such institutions, with teachers required to handle students from different grades while also managing administrative responsibilities and other school-related tasks.
NITI Aayog has recommended an evidence-based approach to school rationalisation, particularly for under-enrolled, single-teacher, multi-grade and non-functional schools. The report proposes reorganising school infrastructure around composite and anchor schools while ensuring that students continue to have safe and reasonable access to education.
It recommends using GIS and UDISE+ data to identify small and under-enrolled schools and determine feasible consolidation clusters. States have also been advised to develop rationalisation criteria and pilot composite-school models in selected districts.
The report further recommends phased consolidation of under-enrolled and sub-scale schools to improve subject-wise teacher availability and reduce dependence on multi-grade teaching.
The findings on school infrastructure and staffing come against a backdrop of weaker participation at the higher stages of education in J&K.
The report records J&K’s higher-secondary Gross Enrolment Ratio at 44.8% in 2024-25, among the lowest levels nationally. It also notes that the ratio declined from 48.58% in 2014-15 to 44.8% in 2024-25.
The secondary-to-higher-secondary transition rate also fell sharply, from 93.38% in 2014 to 72.9% in 2024, one of the steepest declines recorded among States and UTs. The report links difficulties in progression beyond Grade 10 to factors including financial constraints, early entry into the workforce and social pressures.
J&K’s secondary dropout rate stood at 12.9%, placing it among the States and UTs with a relatively high burden of secondary-level attrition.
The report also highlights gaps in school infrastructure in J&K. Only 16.5% of schools had functional smart classrooms, placing the UT among the lowest performers nationally.
Similarly, only 45.4% of schools had ramps for children with special needs, indicating continuing gaps in accessibility infrastructure. At the same time, the report records progress in basic infrastructure. Electricity coverage in J&K increased substantially from 25.1% in 2014-15 to 87.2% in 2024-25, although the UT remained below near-universal coverage.
