By Krishna Jha
Between 2015 and 2025, the country witnessed the closure of about 93000 government schools. It was simply denial of light, light of knowledge. Vast masses from the lower depths were stopped from crossing the barrier, without any explanation. Obviously the system had refused them the freedom of choice. Marginalized, they have the only choice left, a life without earning, thus making them join the growing crowd of those jobless. The information was provided recently during the question hour in Parliament by the Ministry of Education.
India calls itself one of the youngest nations in the world with over 60 percent of people being below 35 years of age. According to Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE), the total number of schools, both government and private, in 2015-16 was about 15.22 lakh. The figure fell down to 14.71 lakh in 2024-25. So the number of schools which were closed down during the ten year period was 51,000 even if we take into account all the schools, not just the government but the private too. That means about three and half percent of schools faced closure.
This has led to sharp increase in school dropouts. The number of students enrolled in schools in 2015-16 was 27.1 crore. In 24-25, the UDISE data given by the Government of India after collecting of data from all the districts is 24.69 crore. This means that 2.41 crore students dropped out of the schools during this period.
During this period the population kept increasing, meaning every child born during this period should join schools after five years of age. Even at the level of enrolment that existed in 2015-16, the number of 27.1 crores should have jumped to over 30 crores. Rather, during this period the overall enrolment dropped from 27.1 crores to 24.69 crores.
Therefore, the dropout in real terms, with the increase in population kept in consideration, is to the tune of over five crore rather than 2.41 crore. This is because India’s population in 2015-16 was 131 crores. Today it is 146 crores. So while the population went up by 11 percent, the number of enrolment in school students went down by 9 per cent. If one looks at it in proportional terms, it is 20 per cent down in terms of population to student ratio compared to what it was in 2015-16. So one-fifths students, born during last ten years, are no longer admitting themselves in schools.
This is a serious crisis for a country like India which is dreaming of earning a democratic dividend.
When the number of government schools has been reduced, the access to education also gets reduced. Students from weaker sections, who cannot afford private schools, are forced to travel to long distances for school education, thus forcing them to drop out. By increasing the private schools, the government is again hitting out the students of weaker sections because it involves the question of affordability.
Thus, between 2015-16 and 2024-25, the government schools have fallen by 9 per cent and private schools have gone up by 15 per cent. Even the increase in number of private schools could not match up to the closure of the government schools. Which is to say that while the government schools have fell down 90,000, the total fall in the number of schools is about 53,000. So only 35 to 40 thousand private schools were added during this period. Whenever private schools are added at the cost of government schools the affordability is a question mark. Thus the increase in private schools has not compensated for the decrease in government schools.
Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh lead the closures. In Madhya Pradesh about 30,000 schools were closed in the last ten years. In Uttar Pradesh, around 25,000 schools were closed during this period. In Orissa, the figure is 10,000 schools, in Assam it is 8,000, in Jharkhand it is 5,000.
All this is leading to a bigger problem that we as a nation will face at some point in time. The only way the situation can be improved is by the government coming out in a big way with increased budget for school education in order to provide more access to schools and to make the education more affordable.
In last five years the situation has even worsened. There are at least 65 lakh students among the dropouts from schools within five years and among them 30 lakh are girls. There are reports that Gujarat also has a 341percent surge in dropouts, a figure that is both shocking and indicative of deeper issues. The data was provided by Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur in reply to a question by Congress MP Renuka Chaudhary in Parliament recently.
The numbers have renewed concerns about how many children are slipping out of the education system and how uneven the situation remains across different states.
According to the state-level breakdown, Gujarat reported the highest number of out-of-school children in 2025-26. The state identified 2.4 lakh students who were no longer attending school, including 1.1 lakh girls in the adolescent age group.
The sudden rise in Gujarat’s dropout figures has drawn attention. In 2024, the state had recorded only 54,541 out-of-school children. The jump to 2.4 lakh this year represents an increase of over 340 per cent.
Assam followed next, with a total of 1,50,906 out-of-school children, of whom 57,409 were girls. Uttar Pradesh recorded 99,218 dropouts, including 56,462 girls. (IPA Service)
