Latest news with #PM-POSHAN
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Students moving away from govt schools, disturbing: Centre to states
Pointing to the 'disturbing trend' of students 'moving away from government schools', and the steady increase in private school enrolment in states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Uttarakhand, the Ministry of Education has asked them to take steps to reverse the trend, official documents show. The enrolment of students came up in meetings that the Education Ministry held with states in March and April to discuss projects for 2025-26 under the Samagra Shiksha scheme. In 10 of the 30 states and Union Territories, minutes of meetings made public so far show, the Union ministry has raised the matter of increasing or higher enrolments in private schools, despite the presence of a higher number of government schools. Additionally, across eight of the 30 states and UTs, the ministry has pointed to decreasing enrolments in government and aided schools. The issue of decreasing enrolments in government schools was also raised in recent meetings that the Ministry had with the states on the PM-POSHAN or midday meal scheme. In Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Uttarakhand, for instance, the secretary of the Education Ministry's Department of School Education and Literacy 'expressed his concerns that in spite of spending a large amount of funds, students are moving away from government schools, which is a disturbing trend'. The minutes of the ministry's meeting with Andhra Pradesh refer to UDISE+ data from 2023-24 to state that out of the 61,373 schools in the state, around 73 per cent (45,000) are government schools, and around 25 per cent (15,232) are private. However, enrolment in government schools is around 46 per cent of the total, while those in private schools is a little more than 52 per cent, according to the minutes. 'Enrolment trend during 2021-22 to 2023-24 suggests that enrolment in unaided schools is steadily increasing,' the minutes state. In Telangana and Uttarakhand, the minutes state that enrolment during the 2018-19 to 2023-24 period suggests that 'except during 2021-22 (COVID-19)', unaided schools witnessed a steady increase. In Telangana, the minutes refer to UDISE+ 2023-24 data to point out that 70 per cent of the 42,901 schools in the state are of the government, but their enrolment accounts for only 38.11 per cent of the total, compared to 60.75 per cent in private schools. Similarly, in Uttarakhand, close to 72 per cent of the total number of schools are of the government. 'However, total enrolment in government schools is only 36.68 per cent as compared to 54.39 per cent enrolment in unaided schools,' the minutes read. In the case of Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Telangana, the secretary has suggested that the state 'should make a sincere analysis of the root cause so as to take remedial steps and to reverse this trend'. In Tamil Nadu, the Union ministry has pointed out that government schools constitute 64 per cent of the total, and account for 37 per cent of enrolment. In contrast, unaided schools make up 21 per cent of the total, and account for 46 per cent of enrolment. 'In this regard, the State was urged to build the government school brand so as to increase enrolment and make the best use of the available resources,' the minutes state. In Kerala and Maharashtra, the Union ministry flagged a drop in government and aided school enrolments in 2023-24 compared to 2018-19 in Maharashtra, and compared to 2022-23 in Kerala. In response, these states have said they have done a 'data cleansing exercise using Aadhaar verification'. In Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, the ministry has raised a drop in enrolment in government and aided schools in 2023-24 compared to figures in 2018-19 for some states and 2022-23 for others. In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Ladakh, Puducherry, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, the Education Ministry has noted that enrolment in private schools is higher compared to government schools, and has referred to this as a 'matter of concern.' A senior official in the Ministry of Education said private school enrolments are particularly high in the junior classes, and that states have been asked to check for reasons for the drop in government school enrolment. The official said, 'With aspirations, demand for private schools has also gone up.' The meetings on the PM-POSHAN scheme referred to a drop in enrolment in government and aided schools, with officials citing a data clean-up and a move to private schools in the post-Covid years as possible reasons. The UDISE+ 2023-24 data shows that private school enrolment accounts for 36 per cent (a little over 9 crore) of the total of 24.80 crore. In 2022-23, private school enrolment was 33 per cent of the total, the same as in 2021-22, and a little less than the 36 per cent recorded in 2020-21. In the pre-pandemic year of 2019-20, private school enrolment accounted for 37 per cent of the total.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Education Ministry flags steady increase in private school enrolment in states, asks them to reverse trend
Pointing to the 'disturbing trend' of students 'moving away from government schools', and the steady increase in private school enrolment in states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Uttarakhand, the Ministry of Education has asked them to take steps to reverse the trend. The matter of enrolment of students came up in meetings that the Education Ministry held with the states in March and April to discuss their projects for the 2025-26 year under the Samagra Shiksha scheme. In 11 of the 23 states and Union Territories, for which meeting minutes have been made public so far, the Union ministry has raised the matter of increasing enrolments in private schools, and decreasing enrolments in government and aided schools, despite these states having a higher number of government schools. A similar matter, on decreasing enrolments in government schools, was raised in recent meetings that the Ministry had with the states on the PM-POSHAN or midday meal scheme as well. In Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Uttarakhand, for instance, the secretary of the Education Ministry's Department of School Education and Literacy 'expressed his concerns that in spite of spending a large amount of funds, students are moving away from government schools, which is a disturbing trend.' The minutes of the ministry's meeting with Andhra Pradesh refer to UDISE+ data from 2023-24 to state that out of the 61,373 schools in the state, around 73 per cent (45,000) are government schools, and around 25 per cent (15,232) are private ones. However, enrolment in government schools is around 46 per cent of the total enrolment, while enrolment in private schools is a little more than 52 per cent of the total, going by the minutes. 'Enrolment trend during 2021-22 to 2023-24 suggests that enrolment in unaided schools is steadily increasing,' the minutes state. In Telangana and Uttarakhand, the minutes say that the enrolment trend during the 2018-19 to 2023-24 period suggests that 'except during 2021-22 (COVID-19)', enrolment in unaided schools is steadily increasing. In Telangana, it refers to UDISE+ 2023-24 data to point out that 70 per cent of the 42,901 schools in the State are government ones, but enrolment in government schools accounts for only 38.11 per cent of the total enrolment, compared to 60.75 per cent of the total enrolment being in private schools. Similarly, in Uttarakhand, close to 72 per cent of the total number of schools in the state are government ones. 'However, total enrolment in government schools is only 36.68 per cent as compared to 54.39 per cent enrolment in unaided schools,' the minutes read. In the case of Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Telangana, the secretary has suggested that the state 'should make a sincere analysis of the root cause so as to take remedial steps and to reverse this trend.' In Tamil Nadu, the Union ministry has pointed out that government schools constitute 64 per cent of the total number of schools, and account for 37 per cent of student enrolment. In contrast, unaided schools make up 21 per cent of the total, and account for 46 per cent of enrolment. 'In this regard, the State was urged to build the government school brand so as to increase enrolment and make the best use of the available resources,' the minutes stated. In Kerala and Maharashtra, the Union ministry flagged a drop in government and aided school enrolments in 2023-24 compared to 2018-19 in Maharashtra, and compared to 2022-23 in Kerala. In response, these states have said that they have done a 'data cleansing exercise using Aadhaar verification'. In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Ladakh, Puducherry, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, the Education Ministry has noted that enrolment in private schools is higher compared to government schools, and has referred to this as a 'matter of concern.' A senior official in the Ministry of Education said that private school enrolments are particularly high in the junior classes, and that states have been asked to check for reasons for the drop in government school enrolment. The official added: 'With aspirations, demand for private schools has also gone up.' The meetings on the PM-POSHAN scheme had referred to a drop in enrolments in government and aided schools, with officials citing a data clean-up and a move to private schools in the post-COVID years as possible reasons. The UDISE+ 2023-24 data shows that private school enrolment accounts for 36 per cent (a little over 9 crore) of the total school enrolment of 24.80 crore. In 2022-23, private school enrolment was 33 per cent of the total, the same as the figure in 2021-22, and a little less than the 36 per cent recorded in 2020-21. In the pre-pandemic year of 2019-20, private school enrolment accounted for 37 per cent of the total. (UDISE+ data. Total enrolment includes govt aided schools)
Deccan Herald
18-05-2025
- Business
- Deccan Herald
Govt schools in 23 states record drop in student enrolment, Uttar Pradesh tops list: Report
The MoE held meetings with 33 states and UTs last month, and carried discussions on performance, planning and budget on PM-POSHAN scheme.
India Today
18-05-2025
- General
- India Today
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 enrolment drop was flagged during April meetings with 33 States and UTs on the PM-POSHAN 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 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 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 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 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 enrolment decline was first observed in the 2023-24 UDISE+ report. PM-POSHAN records show the trend has 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.
Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Enrolment in Govt schools drops; Centre asks states to probe, send remedial plans
A steep drop in government school enrolment at the primary and upper-primary levels across 23 States and UTs in 2024-25 has evoked concern within the Union government, prompting the Ministry of Education (MoE) to ask for probes and remedial action plans from the states concerned. Minutes of meetings held by the MoE with 33 States and UTs in April to discuss performance, plan and budget under the PM-POSHAN scheme show that student enrolment dipped in 23 states, of which at least eight witnessed declines exceeding 100,000: led by Uttar Pradesh (21.83 lakh), Bihar (6.14 lakh), Rajasthan (5.63 lakh) and West Bengal (4.01 lakh). PM-POSHAN — Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman, formerly the midday-meal scheme — covers students up to Class 8 in government and government-aided schools. Launched three decades ago, the scheme is a flagship nutritional support programme for children in pre-primary to Class 8 in government and government-aided schools. Its cost is shared by the Centre and States on a 60:40 basis, with the Centre supplying foodgrains. Besides addressing child nutrition, a cooked meal in school is known to boost attendance, learning outcomes and attention spans. Compared to 2023-24, Karnataka saw its enrolment fall by around 2 lakh; Assam by 1.68 lakh, Tamil Nadu by 1.65 lakh and Delhi by 1.05 lakh (see chart). The School Education Secretary at the MoE expressed 'deep concern' over the trend and advised States to identify the reasons and submit reports by June 30, The Sunday Express has learned. The drop first came to light late last year in the UDISE+ report for 2023-24, which pointed to a sharp fall of around 1.5 crore in overall school enrolment (government and private) compared to the 2018-19 to 2021-22 average. PM-POSHAN minutes show the trend continuing into 2024-25, triggering fresh concern in the government. MoE officials, who did not wish to be named, pointed to two possible causes. The first is a change in data-collection methodology—from school-wise reporting (just total numbers) to student-wise reporting (name, address, parents' names and Aadhaar details). This ongoing 'data cleansing' may have removed 'ghost' entries, they said. Second, officials noted that several States have suggested enrolment may be moving from government to private schools in the post-Covid years, reversing pandemic-era trends. Alongside enrolment declines, the PM-POSHAN meetings flagged low scheme coverage. In Delhi, the number of students availing midday meals fell by 97,000 in 2024-25 versus 2023-24, with only 60 percent of Balvatika (pre-primary), 69 percent of primary and 62 percent of upper-primary students covered—below the national average. The MoE has asked Delhi to 'strive' to improve these figures. In Uttar Pradesh, meal coverage dropped by 5.41 lakh students, by 3.27 lakh in Rajasthan and 8.04 lakh in West Bengal. Some States reported students bringing their own tiffin; all have been asked to check and ensure meal quality, officials added.
