119 Schools in Jammu Kashmir Operate Without Students; 238 Teachers Still Posted
Srinagar 19 Jan: Despite the closure of thousands of government schools due to low or zero student enrollment, at least 119 schools in Jammu and Kashmir are still functioning without any enrolled students.
According to updated official figures, these 119 government-run schools have no students enrolled but continue to operate, with 238 teachers posted or deployed in these institutions.
The data further highlights that Jammu and Kashmir faces a Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) of 1:16, significantly below the prescribed norm of 1:30. On average, seven teachers are posted in government schools across the region, regardless of enrollment numbers.
Efforts to reach the Project Director of Jammu and Kashmir Samagra Shiksha for a comment were unsuccessful.
In 2024, there were reports of closure of over 4,400 government-run schools due to zero or extremely low student enrollment. By July 2024, the total number of government schools in Jammu and Kashmir had dropped to 23,117, with 4,394 schools removed from the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) data.
An official source stated that many of these schools were merged with nearby institutions to optimise resources, as they had either no students or very low enrollment.
The data revealed that primary schools were the most affected, with their total number reduced by nearly 30 per cent. Out of 12,977 government primary schools, only 8,966 remain functional after the merger. Additionally, 392 middle schools, three high schools, and one higher secondary school were removed from the UDISE Plus list.
Including private institutions, Jammu and Kashmir initially had 28,805 schools. However, this number has decreased to 24,279, with 5,555 private schools still operational out of an earlier total of 5,688.
The School Education Department previously identified more than 1,200 government schools with low student enrollment for potential mergers. In April 2022, the department announced plans to merge 720 such schools based on student catchment areas and feasibility.
