NITI Aayog report (first published in May) showing that 94,000 government schools have closed over the past decade. This has raised concerns about children's access to education.

BACKGROUND

  • For decades, India's education policy focused on expanding neighbourhood schools to ensure every child could access education close to home.
  • Today, that narrative is shifting. Since education falls under the Concurrent List, several states have adopted policies to close, merge, or consolidate schools — raising both concerns and questions about the real story behind the numbers.

KEY TRENDS

  • Total schools declined by about 45,000 — but this was driven entirely by a fall in government schools (94,000 fewer), even as private unaided schools expanded.
  • Student enrolment declined in a pattern mirroring school numbers — government school enrolment fell while private school enrolment rose.
  • Number of teachers increased, indicating improved teacher availability despite fewer schools and declining enrolment.

WHAT THE DATA SHOWS?

  • Schools: Total schools (government + private) fell from 15.16 lakh (2014-15) to 14.71 lakh (2024-25). Government schools alone declined from 11.07 lakh to 10.13 lakh, while private unaided schools grew.
  • Enrolment: Overall student enrolment fell by 2.26 crore, from 26.95 crore to 24.69 crore. Between 2022-23 and 2024-25 alone, government school enrolment dropped from 13.62 crore to 12.16 crore, while private school enrolment rose from 8.42 crore to 9.59 crore (Rajya Sabha reply, March 2026).
    • Notably, nearly 70% of students remain enrolled in Classes I-VIII, underlining the continued importance of neighbourhood schools for young children.
  • Teachers: Teacher numbers rose from about 90 lakh to over 1 crore, and the average teachers per school improved from 5.9 to 6.9.
    • However, national averages mask disparities — many rural schools still run with very low enrolment or a single teacher, while urban schools remain overcrowded.

WHY THIS IS HAPPENING?

  • India is undergoing a demographic transition. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has fallen from over 3 in the early 1990s to about 2.0 today — below the replacement level of 2.1.
  • This decline stems from rising female literacy, urbanisation, better healthcare, wider family planning access, delayed marriages, and changing family aspirations.
  • Fewer children being born naturally translates to fewer children needing schooling.

WHY SCHOOL SIZE MATTER?

  • A school does more than deliver lessons — it nurtures a child's intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development through peer interaction, sports, and group activities.
  • Such holistic development is difficult in schools with only a handful of students or a single teacher, who must simultaneously handle multiple classes, subjects, and administrative duties.
  • Unlike home tuition, effective schooling depends on age-appropriate classrooms, subject-specific teachers, and peer learning — elements that low-enrolment schools often cannot provide.

SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION: WORKABILITY

  • School consolidation merges under-enrolled schools into larger, better-equipped composite institutions with qualified teachers, laboratories, libraries, and sports facilities.
  • This approach is supported by the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, through the concept of school complexes and clusters — aimed at pooling resources to improve quality, not merely cutting costs.
  • However, consolidation carries risks:
    • Increased travel distances can disadvantage young children, girls, and students in remote or tribal areas.
    • Success depends on balancing quality, efficiency, and equitable access — not administrative or financial convenience alone.

WAY FORWARD

  • Consolidation decisions should be data-driven, based on enrolment trends, demographic projections, geography, and accessibility.
  • Wherever schools are merged, governments must ensure safe transport and uninterrupted access, especially for young children, girls, and those in remote, tribal, and disadvantaged areas.
  • Success should ultimately be judged not by the number of schools closed, but by whether every child can safely access a well-resourced school delivering quality education and holistic development.