Slide in govt school enrolments continued in 2024-25; UP alone witnessed drop of 21.82 lakh

The Print

13-05-2025

The latest data was presented during meetings in February and March between state officials and the project approval board (PAB) for the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN) scheme, or the midday meal scheme. The minutes of the meeting were released by the Ministry of Education last week. According to the minutes reviewed by ThePrint, apart from Uttar Pradesh, the Ministry of Education also flagged a significant drop in enrolment in other states in 2024–25 compared to the previous academic year.
New Delhi: Government school enrolments in Classes 1-8 fell across several states in the 2024-25 academic year, with the Centre expressing 'deep concern' over the significant decline, including a sharp drop of 21.83 lakh students in Uttar Pradesh alone.
Additionally, the ministry highlighted a decline in enrolment in Delhi (1.05 lakh), Tamil Nadu (1.65 lakh), Assam (1.68 lakh), Gujarat (79,416), and Himachal Pradesh (50,469).
The education ministry has directed all states and Union Territories to review the situation and submit a detailed report by the end of June. It attributed this decline to a change in data collection methodology, which involved tracking individual student records, resulting in the elimination of duplicate and ghost entries. According to the minutes, Department of School Education and Literacy Secretary Sanjay Kumar raised 'deep concern' over the reduction in enrolments and advised the states to review the dip in enrolments.
'The PAB observed that there is a reduction of about 21.83 lakh in enrolment from FY 2023-24 to FY 2024-25. There is a decrease of about 5.41 lakh students in coverage from FY 2023-24 to FY 2024-25. The Secretary DoSE&L, expressed deep concern over the reduction in enrolment and advised the State to review the above reduction of enrolment and submit a report by 30th June, 2025,' read the minutes of the meeting.
In October last year, ThePrint reported that the Centre while flagging a dip in government school enrolments in various states and UTs had asked them to ascertain the reasons for the trend.
This included a decline of 28,69,670 students in enrollments for Classes 1-8 in government schools in Uttar Pradesh in the academic year 2023-24 from 2022-23. Declines were also reported in West Bengal (3,70,719), Karnataka (2,82,012), Telangana (2,25,000), Jharkhand (2,23,690), Haryana (1,55,000), Kerala (1,32,941) and Madhya Pradesh (1,14,374).
Officials in several states at the time attributed the drop to 'reverse migration' following the COVID-19 pandemic, and also highlighted that students who moved from private to state-run schools due to financial constraints were returning to private institutions.
The government's UDISE+ report, released in December 2024, revealed a nationwide decline of 87 lakh students in government schools in 2023-24 compared to the previous year, alongside a rise of 60 lakh students in private schools during the same period.
Also Read: Govt school enrolments dipped by 87 lakh in 2023-24. Bihar saw sharpest decline, followed by UP
'Ghost students' & what experts have to say
Officials in several states have again attributed the decline in government school enrolments to ongoing efforts to identify and remove 'ghost students' and the increasing shift of students to private schools. However, they maintain that efforts are still underway to determine the exact causes.
Education ministry officials also said they have yet to receive state reports on the cause of the decline. 'In 2023–24, the Uttar Pradesh government launched a comprehensive exercise to remove from its rolls students who were enrolled in government schools solely to access benefits while actually attending private institutions. This exercise continued into 2024–25 and resulted in a noticeable drop in enrolment,' said an official from UP's Basic Education Department who did not wish to be named.
A senior official from Karnataka, speaking to ThePrint on condition of anonymity, cited a post-pandemic trend of students returning to private schools. 'Government schools saw a sharp rise in enrolment during the COVID-19 period, but since 2023, there has been significant reverse migration to private schools. The latest UDISE report also reflects an increase in enrolment in private institutions,' the official said.
Experts have pointed out that states have made minimal efforts to reverse the declining enrolment in government schools since the sharp drop in 2023–24.
Sanjay Gupta, director of CHETNA, an NGO working with marginalised children, noted that state mechanisms to bring children back to government schools remain largely ineffective.
'If states claim students are being removed due to enrollment elsewhere, then other states should be seeing an increase—but that's not happening. So, where are these children going?' he asked. Gupta added that this trend reflects a continuing erosion of parental trust in government schools, regardless of the actual quality of private education.
'Even in cities like Noida and Gurugram, domestic workers are opting for low-fee private schools charging Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 a month. The education may be poor, but parents still prefer them,' he said.
Centre flags low mid-day meal coverage
The ministry also flagged low mid-day meal coverage in 2024-25 in various states and UTs, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, and Jharkhand.
According to the minutes, the ministry saw a significant difference in coverage of enrolled students in the primary and upper primary levels in Jharkhand, as the coverage has gone down to 63 percent in upper primary from 73 percent in primary.
'It is observed to have less than 70 percent coverage in primary in districts Pakur, Jamtara, Girdih, Sahibganj, Deoghar and Garhwa. Less than 60 percent coverage in upper primary was observed in districts Pakur, Jamtara, Deoghar, Sahebganj, Godda, Garhwa, Giridih and Dhanbad,' the minutes read.
In Delhi, the ministry noted that student coverage under the scheme remains below the national average, with only 60 percent of enrolled students covered at the Bal Vatika level, 69 percent at the primary level, and 62 percent at the upper-primary level.
'The GNCT of Delhi was advised to make further efforts to improve coverage among enrolled students,' according to the minutes of the meeting.
In Karnataka, the ministry flagged a significant decline in student coverage, with a fall of around 3 lakh students in 2024-25 from the previous year. In Assam, the coverage has was down by 4.78 lakh in the corresponding period.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
Also Read: Govt schools in rural India outperform private in bouncing back from COVID-19 learning loss