Story in numbers: Fall in student enrolment in government schools

New study shows movement of students from government schools to private ones

Between 2010-11 and 2015-16, student enrolment in government schools across 20 states fell by 13 million, while private schools acquired 17.5 million students, according to a new study. Average enrolment in government schools declined from 122 to 108 students per school over five years, while it rose from 202 to 208 in private schools, according to research by Geeta Gandhi Kingdon, professor of education and international development at the Institute of Education, London.

Why are students opting out of government schools, which educate students until the age of 14 for free, and migrating to fee-charging private institutions?

The study attributes this to the belief among parents that private schools offer better teaching than government schools. Multiple evaluations after controlling for students' home backgrounds indicate "children's learning levels in private schools are no worse than, and in many studies better than, those in government schools,” said Kingdon.

Section 6 of the Right to Education Act, 2009, legally obligates states to create more government schools.

Tiny (with 20 or fewer students) and small (with 50 or fewer students) government schools are being abandoned, according to her. In the five years considered by the study, the number of tiny government schools rose 52 per cent and small ones by 33.7 per cent.  

Text: IndiaSpend