Government Schools Closure

Syllabus: GS2/Governance 

In News

• A recent NITI Aayog report said some 94,000 government schools were closed over the past decade, an average of 25 a day, contributing to a 2.26 crore decline in government school enrolment.

Government Schools Closure

• Government schools are the main source of education for the economically weaker sections, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and many minority communities.
  • Education is a Concurrent List subject, but the Centre also has a responsibility, as the RTE Act, 2009 is a Central law which makes it mandatory to have neighbourhood schools. 
• The share of students in government schools has drastically reduced from 71% in 2005 to 49.24% in 2024-25, showing a significant shift from public education.

Scale of Closure

• State governments have closed down or merged thousands of government schools as part of their policies of school rationalisation, consolidation and cluster development. 
  • The measures are aimed at better resource utilisation and are in tune with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. 
• The rationalisation of schools has resulted in a substantial reduction in access to neighbourhood schools, particularly for poor and rural children.
  • Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir are the most affected States.
  • In Madhya Pradesh, over 7.37 lakh children do not have school records, 11.38 lakh children are at risk of dropping out, and thousands of government schools have extremely low or zero admissions.
  • In Jammu & Kashmir, children have been forced to travel 4-6 km for school mergers, diluting the RTE neighbourhood school principle, raising questions of access and equity in education.
• According to National UDISE+ data, the number of government schools has come down from 11.07 lakh (2014-15) to 10.17 lakh (2023-24) while private schools have gone up. 

Major Reasons for Closure of government schools

• Resource Pooling under NEP 2020:  Many state Governments are merging low-enrolment schools into school complexes to share infrastructure, teachers and other resources.
• Shift towards Private Schools: Parents are opting for private schools due to poor infrastructure, teacher absenteeism, inadequate sanitation, and the demand for English-medium education.
• Teacher Shortages: Governments frequently merge or close down schools with low enrolment, particularly single-teacher schools, rather than fill teacher vacancies.
• Governance Issues: The problem of declining enrolment is often a consequence of administrative neglect and poor quality of schools and not lack of demand for education.

Impacts 

• Weakening of the Right to Education (RTE): Mergers of schools increase travel distances, violating the RTE Act’s promise of neighbourhood schools.
• Girls are at greater risk: Longer distances to school raise safety concerns, higher dropout rates and increased risks of early marriage.
• Marginalised Communities: SC, ST and Economically Weaker Families face greater barriers to education due to lack of access to transport and private schooling.
• Rise in dropouts: Big consolidation of schools has led to an increase in at-risk and untraceable students, increasing the chances of school dropouts.

Suggestions 

• Consolidations should meet the RTE Act, 2009 and offer safe, free transport where mergers are unavoidable.
• Assess the impact of closures on girls, SC/ST communities, children with disabilities and migrant children before taking decisions.
• Fill teacher vacancies, strengthen early childhood education and upgrade school infrastructure to increase enrolments.
• Involve School Management Committees (SMCs), Gram Panchayats and parents in decisions on merging or closing schools.
• The Union and the State governments should jointly monitor school rationalisation to ensure that it is in conformity with NEP 2020 and at the same time protects equitable access to education.

Source: TH