Centre asks States to raise enrollment in govt. schools, Pg5

Union Education Ministry flagged a steady decline in enrollment in government schools in 11 States/UTs.

• States like Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttarakhand have high % of government schools but low enrollment.

• Telangana: Only 38.11% of enrollment in govt. schools vs. 60.75% in unaided schools.

• Uttarakhand: Govt. schools have 36.68% enrollment while unaided schools have 54.39%.

• Centre has asked States to identify root causes and build a stronger govt. school brand.

• The Samagra Shiksha scheme’s Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B) review flagged this issue. Despite major investments in infrastructure, perceived quality gaps, lack of English-medium instruction, and teacher absenteeism in govt. schools are driving students toward private institutions.

• Parental aspirations for better learning outcomes, especially in urban and semi-urban areas, contribute to the trend.

• A data cleansing process (via Aadhaar-linked verification) has also revealed inflated enrollment figures in some states like Maharashtra and Kerala, exposing the real magnitude of the problem.

• UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education Plus): A comprehensive data collection system for school-level data, managed by the Ministry of Education.

• Samagra Shiksha Scheme: An integrated scheme for school education from pre-primary to class XII, aiming to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education.

• Strengthen accountability in government schools through real-time monitoring and community participation.

• Introduce quality-enhancing measures—trained teachers, outcome-based teaching, digital learning aids.

• Launch a nationwide “public school branding” campaign to restore trust in govt. education.

• Encourage public-private partnerships (PPPs) to upgrade infrastructure and pedagogy in low-performing govt. schools.

Mains Mock Question:

Despite significant investments in public education, government schools continue to face declining enrollment. Critically analyse the reasons and suggest a multipronged strategy to reverse this trend.