{"id":116735,"date":"2026-08-03T10:57:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T05:27:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=116735"},"modified":"2026-08-03T10:57:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T05:27:33","slug":"government-school-closures-in-india-implications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/government-school-closures-in-india-implications\/","title":{"rendered":"Government School Closures in India &#8211; Implications for Equity, Access and the Right to Education"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Government School Closures in India Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A recent NITI Aayog report highlights that around <\/span><b>94,000<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> government schools have been closed over the last decade\u2014an average of 25 schools per day.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the same period, government school <\/span><b>enrolment declined <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by 2.26 crore students, with their share in total enrolment falling from 71% (2005) to 49.24% (2024-25).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The trend has raised concerns over educational access, social equity and compliance with the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Key Initiatives Related to Education in India<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>NEP 2020:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It replaces the older 1986 policy with a comprehensive framework for education from age 3 to higher education.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It introduces the 5+3+3+4 curricular and pedagogical school structure, and extends the focus to early childhood care and education (<\/span><b>ECCE<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enacted on August 4, 2009, it guarantees free and compulsory elementary education for children aged 6 to 14 under <\/span><b>Article 21A<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It mandates 25% reservation for disadvantaged groups in private schools.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prohibits physical punishment, detention, and screening procedures during admission.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education Plus):<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Launched in <\/span><b>2018-2019 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by the Ministry of Education as a real-time online management information system.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It collects comprehensive data on school infrastructure, teacher profiles, and student enrollment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tracks parameters across government and private schools to measure progress and policy execution.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Extent and Reasons for School Closures<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Rationalisation under NEP 2020:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most closures are justified by States as school <\/span><b>rationalisation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, aimed at consolidating institutions with low enrolment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 supports rationalisation, it explicitly states that the principle of neighbourhood schools should not be compromised.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The scale of closures suggests an administrative policy decision rather than merely demographic changes or urban migration.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>National trend:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to UDISE+, government schools declined from 11.07 lakh (2014-15) to 10.17 lakh (2023-24).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the same period, <\/span><b>private <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">schools <\/span><b>increased <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">from 2.88 lakh to 3.31 lakh, indicating a gradual shift towards private schooling.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>States Most Affected<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Madhya Pradesh:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identified 7.37 lakh children without school records.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">11.38 lakh children are classified under the &#8220;Drop Box&#8221; category (at risk of dropping out).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1.23 lakh children are already dropouts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1.55 lakh children discontinued education due to migration or displacement.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over 3,500 government schools reported zero new admissions, while 6,500 schools admitted fewer than ten students.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Government outreach initiatives such as <\/span><b>School Chalen Hum<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the Home Contact Campaign failed to reach nearly 7.5 lakh children, according to the State&#8217;s own audit.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Uttar Pradesh: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Government schools declined from 1.63 lakh to 1.38 lakh within a year (2018-19 to 2019-20), reflecting one of the largest reductions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Jammu &amp; Kashmir:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More than 4,300 schools were merged or closed under rationalisation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">School numbers reduced from 23,167 (2020-21) to 18,785 (2022-23).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many children now travel 4\u20136 km daily, undermining the neighbourhood school principle under the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/rte-act\/\" target=\"_blank\">RTE Act<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Around 13,000 teaching posts remain vacant, aggravating learning deficits.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Impact of Government School Closures<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Educational inequality:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Government schools primarily serve economically weaker sections, including Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and other disadvantaged communities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Closure of nearby schools disproportionately affects children who lack access to private education or transportation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Rise in dropouts:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Increased travel distances and reduced accessibility contribute to higher dropout rates, especially in rural and tribal regions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Migration, displacement and poverty further weaken educational continuity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Gender impact: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Girls are more vulnerable, as families are more likely to withdraw them from education when schools become distant due to safety and mobility concerns.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Decline in educational quality:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consolidated schools often face teacher shortages, with single teachers handling multiple classes simultaneously.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Such arrangements violate RTE norms on pupil-teacher ratio and compromise personalised learning.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Marginalisation of vulnerable communities: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Earlier National Sample Survey (2019) analyses indicate declining access to free education for Muslim, SC and ST households, widening existing educational inequalities.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Governance and Accountability Issues<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Role of States: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since education is in the Concurrent List, States administer schools and implement rationalisation policies.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Role of the Union Government:<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The RTE Act, 2009 is a Central legislation guaranteeing free and compulsory education for children aged 6\u201314 years.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Centre also influences State education through the &#8211;<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conditional funding linked to NEP implementation.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">National policy directives, including language-related reforms.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore, responsibility for ensuring equitable school access is shared by both the Centre and States.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Limitations of the Right to Education (RTE) Framework<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RTE guarantees access but provides limited enforceable provisions regarding quality of education.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poor and rural parents often lack the legal or institutional capacity to enforce their children&#8217;s educational rights.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">School Management Committees (<\/span><b>SMCs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), intended to ensure community participation and accountability, remain weak and often inactive.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consequently, the effective implementation of RTE remains limited despite statutory guarantees.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Way Forward<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">School rationalisation should prioritise educational access, equity and learning outcomes rather than administrative efficiency alone.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strengthening neighbourhood schools, filling teacher vacancies, revitalising SMCs, improving monitoring of out-of-school children and ensuring cooperative Centre-State action.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These steps are essential to uphold the <\/span><b>constitutional vision<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of universal, inclusive and quality education.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Source: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pressreader.com\/india\/the-hindu-international-9bn2\/20260803\/282024744064807?srsltid=AfmBOorOSQFJTIVp0eLu1MLj51IbkEXObVHGS-o1pdsnASwhlEIJDXOA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b>TH<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent NITI Aayog report highlights that around 94,000 government schools have been closed over the last decade\u2014an average of 25 schools per day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":116722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[9195],"class_list":["post-116735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-government-school-closures-in-india","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116735"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116746,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116735\/revisions\/116746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}