Darjeeling, Sept. 17 -- The West Bengal School Education Department has directed all districts to physically verify schools having zero enrolment and assess the possibility of utilising their infrastructure for other public purposes or reviving the institutions.

In a memo (197-SSE/2026 dated September 16,) Additional Chief Secretary of the School Education Department Binod Kumar asked District Magistrates and the Municipal Commissioner of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to undertake the exercise in their respective jurisdictions.

The department said a number of schools presently have zero enrolment, resulting in the under-utilisation or idle status of educational infrastructure and other assets created through public expenditure. The exercise will assess the condition of school buildings, classrooms, ancillary infrastructure, land and other available assets and examine their scope for future utilisation.

District-level committees headed by the respective District Magistrates will be constituted for the purpose. The committees will include the District Education Officer, the concerned District Inspector of Schools and any other officer deemed fit by the District Magistrate. In the Darjeeling Hills and Kalimpong, school education has been transferred to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA.)

The committees will physically verify all zero-enrolment schools and prepare an inventory of their infrastructure. They will also assess the condition and ownership status of land and buildings, basic amenities and accessibility. The department has asked the committees to identify infrastructure lying idle or under-utilised and examine its suitability for alternative public purposes based on local requirements. Possible uses include training centres, health centres, ARD centres and community or other public service facilities, in consultation with the concerned departments.

At the same time, the department stressed that no child should be deprived of schooling facilities and that children should continue to have access to schools. Where revival of a school is considered feasible, the committees have been asked to examine possibilities of revival or restructuring.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.