Lok Sabha Question No. 5814 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-30
Subject: Assessment of School Mergers and Exercises Rationalization
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO5814

ANSWERED ON- 30.03.2026

## ASSESSMENT OF SCHOOL MERGERS AND EXERCISES RATIONALIZATION

5814. Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a)  whether  the  Government  has  made  any  assessment  of  school  mergers  and rationalisation  exercises  that  have  led  to  an  increase  in  dropout  rates,  particularly among rural students and if so, the details thereof; (b)  the  total  number of  Central  Government  and Centrally aided schools that have been shut down in the country as part of the rationalization policy aligned with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, State/UT wise; (c) the details of average increase in distance to school for students in merged/rationalised areas and whether any measures have been taken to mitigate adverse impacts on access and retention and if so, the details thereof; and (d)  the  details  of  enrolment  and  dropout  rates  for  girls,  boys  and  SC/ST/Minority students  at  primary,  upper  primary,  secondary  and  higher  secondary  levels  in  the country during the last ten years, State/UT wise?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  &  (b):    Education  is  in  the  Concurrent  list  of  the  Constitution  and  majority  of schools are under the domain of the respective State/UT Government. The opening, closing  and  integration  of  schools  are  within  the  purview  of  respective  State Government and UT Administration, which are the appropriate Government under the RTE Act.

As per UDISE+, the All India dropout rate during the period 2023-24 and 202425 is as under, which shows reduction in dropout rate:

|             | Primary   | Primary      | Upper Primary   | Upper Primary   | Upper Primary   | Secondary   | Secondary   | Secondary   |
|-------------|-----------|--------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
| Year        | Girls     | Boys Overall | Girls           | Boys            | Overall         | Girls       | Boys        | Overall     |
| 2023-24 1.7 | 2.1       | 1.9          | 5.3             | 5.2             | 5.2             | 12.6        | 15.5        | 14.1        |
| 2024-25 0   | 0.8       | 0.3          | 2.9             | 4.1             | 3.5             | 9.6         | 13.3        | 11.5        |

The number of sanctioned Kendriya Vidyalays (KVs) and Navodaya Vidyalayas (NVs)  during  the  period  of  last  two  years  have  seen  an  increase  of  142  and  28, respectively.

(c): The distance of schools for students is assessed from the Gross Access Ratio which is total villages/habitations having school within specified distance norm in a year out of total villages/habitations in that year. Advancements have been made in improving universal access at all levels of school education as evidenced by Gross Access Ratio (GAR) given below:

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

Under the centrally sponsored Samagra Shiksha scheme, financial assistance is provided to States and UTs for undertaking various activities for improving access, including opening/strengthening of new  schools  upto senior secondary  level, construction of school buildings & additional classrooms, development/strengthening of school infrastructure in border areas under Vibrant Village Programme through the convergence of existing scheme of DOSEL, setting up, construction of hostels for PVTGs under PM-JANMAN, setting  up  of  Netaji  Subhash  Chandra  Bose  Avasiya Vidyalayas,  construction  of  hostels  under  Dharti  Aaba  Janjatiya  Gram  Utkarsh Abhiyan for unsaturated ST population, free uniforms to eligible children and free text books at elementary level, transport allowance and undertaking enrolment & retention drives. Special training for age-appropriate admission of out of school children and residential  as  well  as  non-residential  training  for  older  children,  seasonal  hostels  / residential camps, special training centers at worksites, transport/ escort facility etc. are also supported to bring out of school children to the formal schooling system.

Since 2021-22, financial assistance upto Rs. 2000 per annum is also being provided for supporting Out of School Children including migrant 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.

(d): The Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) developed by DOSEL collects data from all recognised schools. The data on different educational indicators over the years, State-wise is available on the portal http://udiseplus.gov.in/#. As per UDISE+ 2024-25, the enrolment in schools (all management types) is 24.69 crore and the All India dropout rate for SC and ST category is as under:

|                 | Primary   | Primary   | Primary   | Upper Primary   | Upper Primary   | Upper Primary   | Secondary   | Secondary   | Secondary   |
|-----------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
| Social Category | Girls     | Boys      | Overall   | Girls           | Boys            | Overall         | Girls       | Boys        | Overall     |
| SC              | 0.5       | 1.1       | 0.8       | 4.2             | 5.2             | 4.7             | 11.5        | 15.9        | 13.7        |
| ST              | 1.6       | 2.3       | 1.9       | 5.7             | 7.2             | 6.5             | 16          | 20.7        | 18.4        |