Number of govt. schools falls, but those with fewer than 10 students see a steady rise, Pg10

Key Highlights:

• The number of government schools in India has decreased over the past six years, according to data presented in Parliament.
• The number of government schools with fewer than 10 or zero students has increased from 52,300 in 2022-23 to over 65,000 in 2024-25.
• The number of teachers in these schools with low enrollment rose from 1.26 lakh in 2022-23 to 1.44 lakh in 2024-25.
• The total number of government schools in India decreased from 10.32 lakh in 2019-20 to 10.13 lakh in 2024-25.

Detailed Insights:

• The decline in government schools and rise in schools with low enrollment raises concerns about resource allocation and educational accessibility, particularly in states like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
• Despite the decrease in the number of government schools, the increase in teachers employed in schools with low enrollment suggests potential inefficiencies in teacher deployment and utilization.
• As education is on the concurrent list of the Constitution, the responsibility for teacher recruitment and deployment lies with the State Governments/UT Administrations, posing challenges for uniform policy implementation.
• The government's response lacked specific details on the reasons for the decline in school numbers, such as closures, mergers, or repurposing, making it difficult to assess the impact on students and communities.
• State and UT governments are required to submit annual and audit reports to their respective Assemblies before sending them to the Centre, but the government did not clarify when the last such report was submitted, raising concerns about accountability.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Concurrent List: A list of subjects in the Constitution of India on which both the Union and State governments can legislate.
• UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education Plus): A system for collecting and managing data related to school education in India.