Number of schools shrinks by over 84,000 in India in eight years

The Cockroach Janta Party’s ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign has drawn attention to the infrastructural decline in government schools in rural areas, along with teacher shortages, falling enrolments, lack of basic digital facilities, and a growing reliance on private institutions.  

 

According to data from the annual report of the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE), the total number of schools dropped from 1.55 million in 2018-19 to 1.46 million in 2025-26 — a difference of 84,318. Student enrolment rose briefly from 260 million in 2018-19 to 265 million in 2021-22, but then fell to 247 million in 2025-26. The pupil-to-teacher ratio improved from 27 in 2018-19 to 24 in 2025-26, mostly due to reduced enrolment, not increased staffing. In 2025-26, about 31 per cent of eligible students were not enrolled, or roughly 111 million children aged 3 to 17. This trend has persisted since 2018-19. 

 

Government schools’ share declined from 69.8 per cent in 2018-19 to 68.54 per cent in 2025-26; and government-aided schools fell from 5.46 per cent to 5.4 per cent. Private schools were the only category to grow, rising from 21 per cent to 23 per cent in this period.

 

Regional patterns show stark contrasts. In 2025-26, the eastern region had the highest share of government schools at 82 per cent, with private schools accounting for just 8 per cent. In the northern region, government schools accounted for 57 per cent of the total, while private schools reached 36 per cent. In the southern region, government schools comprised 65 per cent and private schools 25 per cent.

 

Most government schools provide basic facilities — 99 per cent have functional drinking water, 94 per cent have electricity, and 96 per cent have toilets. However, digitalisation remains weak: Only 25 per cent have functional desktops, 16 per cent have projectors, and 6 per cent have digital libraries.

 

Dropout rates in 2025-26 were 7 per cent at the secondary level, 3.6 per cent at the middle level, 1.8 per cent at the preparatory level, and negligible at the foundational stage. Retention rates stood at 44 per cent for secondary, 75 per cent for middle, 90 per cent for preparatory, and 92 per cent for primary schools.

 

This decline in government schools is compounded by shrinking budgetary allocations. The share of school education and literacy in the Union Budget fell from 1.9 per cent in FY10 to 1.4 per cent in FY26. The Department of Higher Education’s share also dropped from 1.4 per cent in FY10 to 1 per cent in FY26 in the period.