Lok Sabha Question No. 384 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-02
Subject: Closing Down of  Government Schools
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Amra Ram

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-384

ANSWERED ON 02.02.2026

## Closing Down of Government Schools

† 384. Shri Amra Ram:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of Government schools at primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary levels which have been closed or merged during the last eleven years, State/UT-wise;
- (b) the details of reasons for closing down the schools while the population is increasing;
- (c) whether the Government has conducted any study regarding closing down of schools, if so, the details of its finding outcomes;
- (d) the number of schools running without buildings, schools running in dilapidated buildings and schools having no provisions for safe drinking water; and
- (e) the number of primary schools in the country running with a single teacher?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (c):  Education  is  in  the  Concurrent  list  of  the  Constitution  and  the  opening,  closing  and rationalisation of schools are within the purview of respective State Government and UT Administration. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 provides children's access to elementary schools within the defined area or limits of neighbourhood. In pursuance to  Section  6  of  the  RTE  Act,  all  States  have  notified  area  or  limits  of  their  neighbourhood  norms. Further, Section 8 of the RTE Act, 2009 also mandates that the appropriate government shall provide free and compulsory elementary education to every child and will ensure availability of neighbourhood schools.

As  per  UDISE+  (Unified  District  Information  System  for  Education  Plus),  State/UT-wise number of Government schools, as reported by them from the year 2014-15 to 2024-25 are available at https://www.education.gov.in/en/parl\_ques .

As  per  the  data  available  on  UDISE+,  advancements  have  been  made  in  improving  universal access across all levels of school education. This is evidenced by Gross Access Ratio (GAR) for 201819 and 2024-25:

| Year    |   Primary |   Upper Primary |   Secondary |   Higher Secondary |
|---------|-----------|-----------------|-------------|--------------------|
| 2018-19 |     97.15 |           96.49 |       88.24 |              65.05 |
| 2024-25 |     97.83 |           96.57 |       95.35 |              94.97 |

GAR: Gross access ratio (GAR) is total villages/habitations having school within specified norm in a year out of total villages/habitations in that year.

As per UDISE+, GER (Gross Enrolment Ratio) and dropout rate by level of education for the year 2023-24 and 2024-25 are given below:

| Indicator   | Indicator                |   2023-24 |   2024-25 |
|-------------|--------------------------|-----------|-----------|
| Dropout     | Primary (1 to 5)         |       1.9 |       0.3 |
| Dropout     | Upper Primary (6-8)      |       5.2 |       3.5 |
| Dropout     | Secondary (9-10)         |      14.1 |      11.5 |
|             | Primary (1 to 5)         |      93   |      90.9 |
|             | Upper Primary (6 to 8)   |      89.7 |      90.3 |
|             | Secondary (9-10)         |      77.4 |      78.7 |
|             | Higher Secondary (11-12) |      56.2 |      58.4 |

As shown above, as per UDISE+, GAR has improved, Dropout rate has fallen and GER is increasing at Upper Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary level of education.

- (d) & (e): As per UDISE+ 2024-25, number of government schools running without buildings, schools having in dilapidated building blocks, schools without drinking water facility and number of primary schools which are running with a single teacher are given below:

| Indicator                                     |   Percentage of Government Schools |
|-----------------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| Schools running without buildings             |                                0.3 |
| Schools having in dilapidated building blocks |                               12   |
| schools without drinking water facility       |                                0.6 |
| Primary schools with a single teacher         |                               13.4 |

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