Education Ministry Flags Drop in Government School Enrolments, Urges States to Act

Last Updated May - 30 - 2025, 05:03 PM | Source : Fela News

Concerned by rising private school enrolments, the Education Ministry has urged states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Uttarakhand to reverse the trend and

The Ministry of Education has expressed concern over the increasing shift of students from government to private schools, particularly in states such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Uttarakhand. During recent meetings in March and April to discuss state proposals for the 2025–26 Samagra Shiksha scheme, the ministry flagged this trend and urged states to take corrective measures.

Of the 23 states and Union Territories where meeting summaries have been released, 11 were specifically cautioned about the declining enrolment in government and aided schools despite having a higher number of such institutions. This concern also surfaced in discussions on the PM-POSHAN (midday meal) scheme. The Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy highlighted that despite significant financial investment, students continue to prefer private schools—a development the ministry described as “disturbing.”

In Andhra Pradesh, UDISE+ 2023–24 data shows that while 73% of schools are government-run, only 46% of total enrolment is in these schools, compared to over 52% in private institutions. A similar pattern is seen in Telangana, where government schools account for 70% of the state’s 42,901 schools, but only 38.11% of students are enrolled in them. In contrast, 60.75% of students attend private schools. In Uttarakhand, government schools make up 72% of the total but attract just 36.68% of students, whereas unaided schools enrol 54.39%.

The ministry urged these states to conduct thorough analyses to identify the root causes of the trend and take steps to reverse it. Tamil Nadu was also advised to improve the perception of government schools. There, government schools make up 64% of the total but account for only 37% of enrolments, while private unaided schools enrol 46% of students despite constituting just 21% of the total schools.

In Kerala and Maharashtra, a decline in enrolments in government and aided schools was noted for the 2023–24 academic year. Both states attributed the drop to a data-cleaning process involving Aadhaar verification.

The trend is consistent across several Union Territories, including Delhi, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Ladakh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, where private school enrolments surpass those in government institutions—a matter the ministry finds worrisome.

A senior ministry official noted that the trend is most noticeable in lower grades, attributing it to rising aspirations and growing preference for private education. Post-COVID shifts and data clean-up efforts were also cited as contributing factors. According to UDISE+ 2023–24 data, private schools now account for 36% (over 9 crore) of the total school enrolment of 24.80 crore, up from 33% in both 2021–22 and 2022–23. The figure had peaked at 37% in 2019–20, prior to the pandemic.