Government Schools Decline by 8% in 10 Years; State-wise Report

NEW DELHI: In the last ten years, from 2014–15 to 2023–24, the number of government schools decreased by 8% while the number of private schools rose by 14.9%. This information came to light when the government shared this data with the Lok Sabha on Monday. 

Between 2014–15 and 2023–24, the number of government schools decreased by 89,441 from 11,07,101 to 10,17,660, while the number of private schools increased by 42,944 from 2,88,164 to 3,31,108 during the same time period.

Decline in Government Schools 

Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh saw declines of 29,410 and 25,126, respectively, which accounted for 60.9% of the 89,441 falls in government schools overall. With an increase of 19,305 private schools, Uttar Pradesh alone accounted for 44.9% of the nation's total growth in private school enrollment, which now stands at 42,944.

According to data provided by Jayant Chaudhary, the minister of state (MoS) for education, in response to inquiries about school closures and mergers from Rachna Banerjee, the Lok Sabha MP from West Bengal's Hooghly, Madhya Pradesh is the top state and union territory (UT) with a decline of 24.1% from 1,21,849 in 2014–15 to 92,439 in 2023–24.

Government School Decline (2014-15 to 2023-24)

Check the table below to know the state-wise percentage decline in several government schools in India:

In contrast, Bihar's government school count rose by 5% from 74,291 in 2014–15 to 78,120 in 2023–24.

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Top 3 States With Most Increase in Private Schools

With Bihar leading the way at 179.14%, from just 3,284 private schools in 2014–15 to 9,167 private schools in 2023–24, ten states have surpassed the 14.9% national increase in private school enrollment. 

States/UTs with a Decline in Private Schools 

Meanwhile, three states and UTs have seen a decrease in the number of private schools.

Reason for Decline in Government Schools

Although the minister did not provide an explanation for the drop in government schools, he did remark that "the opening, closing, and rationalization of schools are within the purview of respective state government and UT administration" and that education is on the Constitution's concurrent list.