Govt schools in India down by nearly 18,000 over last five years: Data

Over the past five years, government schools in India have declined to 18,727, while private unaided schools have astonishingly risen by 8,475 in just one year.

This data was shared by the Union Minister of Education, Jayant Chaudhary, in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, February 4.

He was replying to a question by Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas, who sought details about the number of government schools currently functioning and closed in the country.

Brittas had asked for state-wise figures for the last five years, how many private schools opened during the same period and enrolment data of government schools at the time of closure.

Chaudhary told the Upper House that government schools in India have declined from 10,32,019 in 2020–21 to 10,13,322 in 2024–25 over five years.

Madhya Pradesh saw 6,902 government schools shut down, making it the highest in the tally. The central Indian state was followed by Jammu and Kashmir at 4,382, Assam at 2,008, Odisha at 1,631 and Himachal Pradesh at 1,116.

In Rajasthan, 1,342 government schools have sprung up over the last five years, followed by Bihar at 765. Telangana saw a rise of 42 schools.

Minister Chaudhary quoted the Concurrent List of the Constitution, saying decisions regarding education, including opening and closure of government schools, staff, funds, etc, falls on the state governments and Union Territory administrations.

Brittas, in his X platform, flagged the decline of government schools across India, raising concerns about how this can impact the education of children from rural and economically weaker backgrounds.

“Public education is shrinking. Private schooling is expanding,” said Brittas.