23 Indian states report decline in government school enrolment: MoE seeks answers
A sharp fall in student enrolment in government schools across 23 States and Union Territories for the 2024-25 academic year has raised concern in the Ministry of Education.The enrolment drop was flagged during April meetings with 33 States and UTs on the PM-POSHAN scheme.The data shows that over 21.83 lakh students stopped attending government schools in Uttar Pradesh alone. Bihar lost 6.14 lakh students, Rajasthan 5.63 lakh, and West Bengal 4.01 lakh.advertisement
PM-POSHAN, earlier known as the midday meal scheme, provides hot meals to children up to Class 8 in government and aided schools. The Centre and States share costs, and the Centre supplies food grains. The cooked meals are meant to improve nutrition and attendance.As per the media reports, it came to the limelight that the Ministry has asked the States to probe the reasons and send action plans by June 30.ENROLMENT DIPS IN SEVERAL STATESCompared to last year, Karnataka saw a 2 lakh drop, Assam 1.68 lakh, Tamil Nadu 1.65 lakh, and Delhi 1.05 lakh. Officials described the trend as worrying. In Delhi, only 60 percent of Balvatika students, 69 percent of primary, and 62 percent of upper-primary students received meals in 2024-25. This is lower than the national average.advertisementMedia reports also highlight that the Ministry believes there are two key reasons. First, a change in data collection -- from broad school-level counts to detailed student-wise reporting using Aadhaar -- may have cleaned out fake records. Second, many students may now be shifting from government to private schools after the pandemic.The enrolment decline was first observed in the 2023-24 UDISE+ report. PM-POSHAN records show the trend has continued.States have also been told to check meal quality. Some students were found bringing food from home. In West Bengal, meal coverage dropped by over 8 lakh, by 5.41 lakh in UP, and by 3.27 lakh in Rajasthan.
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