School Education Department investigates causes for zero enrolment in 28 government elementary schools in 2026 in The Nilgiris

The School Education Department in The Nilgiris said that a total of 28 elementary schools in the district had zero enrolment of students this academic year which has led to concerns that parents may be becoming more inclined towards admitting their children to private schools in the district.

According to officials in the department, the number of students admitted to Class I in government schools this year had fallen by over 20 per cent, from over 2,100 students in 2025, to a little less than 1,700 this year. Moreover, 28 of the government elementary schools had also reported zero enrolment of students this academic year, confirmed T. Thirunavukkarasu, Chief Education Officer of The Nilgiris.

The CEO said that a meeting was held with officials in-charge of government elementary schools in the district to understand the reasons for the lack of students. The 28 schools are located primarily around Coonoor and Kotagiri blocks, with 14 of them being in Udhagamandalam block, confirmed the CEO, adding that there were multiple factors that had led to lower enrolment and student strength this year.

“The total student strength of all schools, including private schools, has reduced from 97,000 students last year, to 87,000 this year,” said Mr. Thirunavukkarasu, adding that migration out of The Nilgiris, a lower birth rate and other factors could have resulted in fewer children enrolling in schools in the district.

The CEO also said that the headmasters of the 28 schools with zero enrolment have been told to conduct awareness campaigns and encourage any children of school-going age to enrol in the schools for the next academic year. He also added that the number of schools with zero enrolment was not significantly higher this year when compared to other years.

“These schools already had low student strength, due to them being located in remote areas. Some of the habitations which the school serviced have seen no births in the last few years, leading to no children of school-going age being eligible to enrol as well,” he said, adding that there were no plans to shut down any of the schools.