Govt schools declined by 8%, private schools up by 14% in last 10 years: Data
There was a decline of 29,410 in Madhya Pradesh and 25,126 in Uttar Pradesh which together contributed 60.9% of the total 89,441 reduction in government schools
NEW DELHI: The number of government schools declined by 8% but private schools increased by 14.9% in the past decade from 2014-15 to 2023-24, the government told Lok Sabha on Monday. There has been a decline of 89,441 government schools from 11,07,101 in 2014-15 to 10,17,660 in 2023-24 and an increase of 42,944 private schools from 2,88,164 to 3,31,108 in the same period.
There was a decline of 29,410 in Madhya Pradesh and 25,126 in Uttar Pradesh which together contributed 60.9% of the total 89,441 reduction in government schools. Uttar Pradesh alone with an increase of 19,305 private schools, contributed 44.9% to the total rise of 42,944 private schools in the country.
Madhya Pradesh with a decline of 24.1% from 1,21,849 in 2014-15 to 92,439 in 2023-24 leads the list of 9 states and UTs that have exceeded the national percentage of government school decline, shows the data shared by Jayant Chaudhary, minister of state (MoS) for education, in response to questions related to closure and merger of schools asked by Rachna Banerjee, Lok Sabha MP from West Bengal’s Hooghly.
Madhya Pradesh is followed by Jammu and Kashmir, which saw a decline of 21.4% in government schools from 23,874 in 201-15 to 18,758 in 2023-24. In the same period, Odisha’s government schools declined by 17.1% from 58,697 to 48,671; Arunachal Pradesh’s schools declined by 16.4% from 3,408 to 2,847; Uttar Pradesh’s government schools declined by 15.5% from 1,62,228 to 1,37,102; Jharkhand saw a decline of 13.4% from 41,322 to 35,795; Nagaland witnessed a decline of 14.4% from 2,279 to 1,952; Goa’s schools declined by 12.9% from 906 to 789 and Uttarakhand’s government schools declined by 8.7% from 17,753 to 16,201.
Meanwhile, the number of government schools has increased in Bihar by 5% from 74,291 in 2014-15 to 78,120 in 2023-24.
Though the minister did not specify the reason for the government schools’ decline, he said that education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution and “the opening, closing and rationalisation of schools are within the purview of respective state government and UT administration.”
“The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 provides children’s access to elementary schools within the defined area or limits of neighbourhood. In pursuance to Section 6 of the RTE Act, all States have notified area or limits of their neighbourhood norms,” he said.
Section 6 of the RTE Act requires the government and local authorities to establish schools within a certain distance of children’s homes.
Earlier in November 2023, NITI Aayog in a report emphasised school mergers, teacher rationalisation, and reforms in teacher education as essential measures to enhance learning outcomes.
Private Schools
A total of 10 states have exceeded the 14.9% national increase percentage of private schools with Bihar leading with 179.14% from just 3,284 in 2014-15 to 9,167 private schools in 2023-24. In the same period, the number of Odisha’s private schools increased by 80.36% from 3,350 to 6,042. Private schools in Uttar Pradesh witnessed an increase of 24.96% from 77,330 to 96,635 private schools.
Meanwhile, the number of private schools has declined in three states and UTs with the maximum decline of 5.36% in Meghalaya from 2,274 to 2,152; 2.88% in Delhi from 2,641 to 2,565, and 0.27% in Himachal Pradesh from 2,614 to 2,607.
