Bratya Basu Refutes 'Zero Enrolment' Claim, Calls it ‘Distortion of Facts’

Dipali Sen, MP, 29 Oct 2025, Kolkata: State Education Minister Bratya Basu on Monday night strongly criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly "peddling lies" regarding reports that claimed West Bengal tops the list of states with the highest number of schools having zero enrolment.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Basu wrote, "BJP—the eternal liar!" He further added, “In the last decade and a half, more than a thousand new and upgraded schools have been established in our state, covering the remotest corners of Bengal." He then quoted Mark Twain: “Figures don’t lie, but liars do figure! Let us now dispel the myths and separate figures from lies.”

The minister’s comments were in response to the latest UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education Plus) 2024–25 report, published in late August. The report revealed that a total of 7,993 schools across India had zero enrolments, with West Bengal reportedly accounting for 3,812 of those schools—employing around 17,965 teachers, the highest among all states. Telangana followed with 2,245 such schools employing 1,016 teachers, and Madhya Pradesh reported 463 schools with 223 teachers.

Dismissing the interpretation of the report, Basu clarified that the figures were being “misrepresented.” He explained that UDISE codes are assigned to both private and government schools, and therefore, the state government cannot be held accountable for all institutions showing zero enrolment.

He further clarified that zero enrolment in a single academic year does not necessarily mean that the school will have no students in the future. “Keeping this in mind, the Government of West Bengal is averse to closing schools and incapacitating the local population,” Basu said.

Basu added that teachers posted in such schools are locally reassigned to nearby institutions with higher student strength. "This is done through local orders rather than formal departmental notifications to continue supporting schools that are adversely affected by low enrolment,” he explained.

Highlighting the state’s educational achievements, Basu cited several flagship welfare schemes such as Kanyashree, Aikyashree, Sabuj Sathi, and the Swami Vivekananda Merit-cum-Means Scholarship (SVMCM). "These and many other scholarships and schemes have brought the net primary dropout rate to zero. In the last academic year alone, around 5.5 lakh students benefitted from SVMCM," he stated.

Taking a swipe at BJP-ruled states, Basu remarked, "Hold a mirror to the so-called double-engine states." He added, “The salaries of all teachers in government and government-aided schools in Bengal are directly credited to their bank accounts—so there is no question of proliferation like in some double-engine states.”