Lok Sabha Question No. 182 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-21
Subject: Decrease in School Enrollment
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Dr. D Ravi Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 182 ANSWERED ON 21 st  July, 2025

## Decrease in School Enrollment

182. Dr. D Ravi Kumar:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of measures taken by the Government to address the significant drop of 1.55  crore  students  in  school  enrollment  between  2018-2022  and  2023-24,  as observed across all levels of education and in both Government and Private Schools;
- (b) the specific steps being implemented  to counteract the  more  pronounced enrollment decline in States like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, and the details of support being extended to these States;
- (c) the details of initiatives being taken to address the root causes of this decline, such as socio-economic factors, migration, or infrastructure deficiencies in schools; and
- (d)  whether  there  is  any  link  between  the  implementation  of  the  National  Education Policy (NEP) and the decline in school enrollment during this period, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a)  to  (d)  Education  is  in  the  concurrent  list  of  the  Constitution  and  majority  of  the schools are under  the domain  of respective  State  and  UT  Government.  The Department of School Education and Literacy is implementing Samagra Shiksha, an integrated scheme for school education in 2018-19 covering the entire gamut from preschool to class XII. The scheme has also been aligned with the recommendations of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education  with  an  equitable  and  inclusive  classroom  environment  which  should  take care  of  their  diverse  background,  multilingual  needs,  different  academic  abilities  and make them active participants in the learning process.

As  per  data  available  on  UDISE+  portal,  total  number  of  enrollments  in Government schools from primary to higher secondary was 13,11,13,434 in 2018-19. In 2023-24, it was 12,42,56,425. Based on the recommendations of NEP 2020, w.e.f., 2022-23  UDISE+  has  been  revitalized  to  capture  individual  student  wise  data  and create  students'  registry.  There  has  been  a  complete  change  in  the  manner  of collection of data from 2022-23 onwards from the Gross Enrolment Data to Individual student  data.  This  makes  comparison  of  data  from  previous  years  statistically different/inchoate.

One  of  the  focus  areas  of  the  Samagra  Shiksha  scheme  is  to  reduce  the dropout rate and the number of Out of School Children (OoSC). The scheme includes the  provision  of  opening  and  strengthening  of  new  schools  up  to  senior  secondary level;  construction  of  school  buildings  and  additional  classrooms;  setting  up,  upgradation  and  running  of  Kasturba  Gandhi  Balika  Vidyalayas;  setting  up  of  Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Avasiya Vidyalayas; free uniforms, free text books, transport allowance and undertaking enrolment & retention drives.

In  addition,  support  is  provided  through  special  training  for  age-appropriate admission of Out of School Children and for the training of residential as well as nonresidential  older  children.  The  provision  of  seasonal  hostels  or  residential  camps, special  training  centres  at  worksites,  transport/  escort  facility  are  also  available  for bringing Out of School Children to the formal schooling structure.

Financial assistance upto ₹ 2000 per annum is being provided for Out of School Children of age group of 16-19 years, belonging to socio economically disadvantaged groups,  for  completing  their  education  through  NIOS/SIOS,  for  accessing  course materials and certification.

Under the student-oriented component for the children with special needs of the scheme, financial assistance is provided for identification and assessment of children with  special needs, aids and appliances, braille kits and books, appropriate teaching learning material and stipend to girl students with disability etc.

Bridge Course Modules have been developed by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for bridging the learning gaps of Out of School Children studying in Special Training Centers (STC) under the provision of RTE Act, 2009.

Mid-Day-Meal  is  another  initiative  by  the  department  for  the  students  at  the elementary level of education under PM-POSHAN scheme. Similarly, under National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme, scholarship is awarded to meritorious students of  economically  weaker sections to arrest their drop out at class VIII and encourage them to continue the study at secondary stage.

This Department has also developed an online module for compiling the data of Out  of  School  Children  (OoSC)  identified  by  each  State/UT  and  their  mapping  with Special Training Centres (STC) on the PRABANDH Portal (http://samagrashiksha.in). The  concerned  State/UT  validates  the  child  wise  information  of  the  identified  OoSC and  STC  uploaded  by  the  concerned  Block  Resource  Centre  of  the  State  for monitoring the progress of mainstreaming of OoSC.

In  the  review  meetings,  national  workshops  and  directives  etc., all  States/UTs including  Bihar,  Maharashtra  and  Uttar  Pradesh  have  been  directed  to  reduce  the number of Out of School Children (OoSC). Through communication at level of Minister, States/UTs  have  also  been  requested  to  participate  in  'Bringing  Children  Back  to School'  campaign  with  the  full  and  active  engagement  of  School  Management Committees and community involvement through Panchayati Raj Institutions. The implementation of NEP is expected to enhance the enrolment and learning outcomes of children in schools.

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