Why in News?

• A recent NITI Aayog report highlights that around 94,000 government schools have been closed over the last decade—an average of 25 schools per day.
• During the same period, government school enrolment declined by 2.26 crore students, with their share in total enrolment falling from 71% (2005) to 49.24% (2024-25).
• The trend has raised concerns over educational access, social equity and compliance with the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Key Initiatives Related to Education in India
• Extent and Reasons for School Closures
• States Most Affected
• Impact of Government School Closures
• Governance and Accountability Issues
• Limitations of the Right to Education (RTE) Framework
• Way Forward

Key Initiatives Related to Education in India:

• NEP 2020:
  • It replaces the older 1986 policy with a comprehensive framework for education from age 3 to higher education.
  • It introduces the 5+3+3+4 curricular and pedagogical school structure, and extends the focus to early childhood care and education (ECCE).
• Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009:
  • Enacted on August 4, 2009, it guarantees free and compulsory elementary education for children aged 6 to 14 under Article 21A.
  • It mandates 25% reservation for disadvantaged groups in private schools.
  • Prohibits physical punishment, detention, and screening procedures during admission.
• UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education Plus):
  • Launched in 2018-2019 by the Ministry of Education as a real-time online management information system.
  • It collects comprehensive data on school infrastructure, teacher profiles, and student enrollment.
  • Tracks parameters across government and private schools to measure progress and policy execution.

Extent and Reasons for School Closures:

• Rationalisation under NEP 2020:
  • Most closures are justified by States as school rationalisation, aimed at consolidating institutions with low enrolment.
  • While the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 supports rationalisation, it explicitly states that the principle of neighbourhood schools should not be compromised.
  • The scale of closures suggests an administrative policy decision rather than merely demographic changes or urban migration.
• National trend:
  • According to UDISE+, government schools declined from 11.07 lakh (2014-15) to 10.17 lakh (2023-24).
  • During the same period, private schools increased from 2.88 lakh to 3.31 lakh, indicating a gradual shift towards private schooling.

States Most Affected:

• Madhya Pradesh:
  • Identified 7.37 lakh children without school records.
  • 11.38 lakh children are classified under the "Drop Box" category (at risk of dropping out).
  • 1.23 lakh children are already dropouts.
  • 1.55 lakh children discontinued education due to migration or displacement.
  • Over 3,500 government schools reported zero new admissions, while 6,500 schools admitted fewer than ten students.
  • Government outreach initiatives such as School Chalen Hum and the Home Contact Campaign failed to reach nearly 7.5 lakh children, according to the State's own audit.
• Uttar Pradesh: Government schools declined from 1.63 lakh to 1.38 lakh within a year (2018-19 to 2019-20), reflecting one of the largest reductions.
• Jammu & Kashmir:
  • More than 4,300 schools were merged or closed under rationalisation.
  • School numbers reduced from 23,167 (2020-21) to 18,785 (2022-23).
  • Many children now travel 4–6 km daily, undermining the neighbourhood school principle under the RTE Act.
  • Around 13,000 teaching posts remain vacant, aggravating learning deficits.

Impact of Government School Closures:

• Educational inequality:
  • Government schools primarily serve economically weaker sections, including Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and other disadvantaged communities.
  • Closure of nearby schools disproportionately affects children who lack access to private education or transportation.
• Rise in dropouts:
  • Increased travel distances and reduced accessibility contribute to higher dropout rates, especially in rural and tribal regions.
  • Migration, displacement and poverty further weaken educational continuity.
• Gender impact: Girls are more vulnerable, as families are more likely to withdraw them from education when schools become distant due to safety and mobility concerns.
• Decline in educational quality:
  • Consolidated schools often face teacher shortages, with single teachers handling multiple classes simultaneously.
  • Such arrangements violate RTE norms on pupil-teacher ratio and compromise personalised learning.
• Marginalisation of vulnerable communities: Earlier National Sample Survey (2019) analyses indicate declining access to free education for Muslim, SC and ST households, widening existing educational inequalities.

Governance and Accountability Issues:

• Role of States: Since education is in the Concurrent List, States administer schools and implement rationalisation policies.
• Role of the Union Government:
  • The RTE Act, 2009 is a Central legislation guaranteeing free and compulsory education for children aged 6–14 years.
  • The Centre also influences State education through the -
    • Conditional funding linked to NEP implementation.
    • National policy directives, including language-related reforms.
  • Therefore, responsibility for ensuring equitable school access is shared by both the Centre and States.

Limitations of the Right to Education (RTE) Framework:

• RTE guarantees access but provides limited enforceable provisions regarding quality of education.
• Poor and rural parents often lack the legal or institutional capacity to enforce their children's educational rights.
• School Management Committees (SMCs), intended to ensure community participation and accountability, remain weak and often inactive.
• Consequently, the effective implementation of RTE remains limited despite statutory guarantees.

Way Forward:

• School rationalisation should prioritise educational access, equity and learning outcomes rather than administrative efficiency alone.
• Strengthening neighbourhood schools, filling teacher vacancies, revitalising SMCs, improving monitoring of out-of-school children and ensuring cooperative Centre-State action.
• These steps are essential to uphold the constitutional vision of universal, inclusive and quality education.