Government School Enrollment Trends in India: A 2023-2024 Analysis, UP sees highest drop at 2.8 million
As of Today, October 11, 2024, there is still no update on UDISEPlus data, which is still the latest available for the year 2021-22.
However, a report published in The Print on October 10, 2024 (Centre flags dip in govt school enrolment in 13 States/UTs in 2023-24, UP sees highest drop at 28 lakh) mentioned that enrolment in Government schools in the case of 13 States/UTs has declined significantly in 2023-24. In the most populous state, namely Uttar Pradesh, the decline was 2.8 million. “Reverse migration after the pandemic, shift to private schools & low mid-day meal coverage are among the critical reasons mentioned for the decline in enrolment for Grades I to VIII in Government schools.”
The Salient Points
As per the Print Report, the Union Ministry of Education has reported a decline in enrolment for Grades I to VIII in Government schools across 13 States and Union Territories, with Uttar Pradesh seeing the most significant drop of over 2.8 million (28 lacks) students last year, i.e., 2022-23. The numbers are based on the data presented during meetings between State officials and the Project Approval Board (PAB) for the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN) scheme, or the Mid-day Meal (MDM) scheme, recently (as reported by The Print but nothing is available in the public domain).
Despite Availability, there is no Data Release
It is, however, observed that the Ministry of Education has officially released neither the UDISE 2022-23 nor UDISE 2023-24 data, and as of today (October 11, 2024), UDISE 2021-22 is the latest data that is available in the public domain which indicate a wide gap in data collection and data dissemination.
It is a moot question that despite the Ministry having not only 2022-23 data, it also has complete data of UDISE 2023-24 but chose not to release the same. It is certain that when data from UDISE 2022-23 is available, there may be a steeper decline in enrolment over the previous year, 2021-22. Is this why UDISE 2022-23 data has not seen the light of day? Or will the Ministry skip the release of UDSIE 2022-23 data?
The Size of Decline in Enrolment in 2023-24
According to the data reviewed by The Print, the Ministry noted a reduction of 28,69,670 students in the enrolment for Grades I to VIII in government schools in Uttar Pradesh in the academic year 2023-24 compared to 2022-23; this is followed by
- West Bengal (3,70,719 students)
- Karnataka (2,82,012 students)
- Telangana (2,25,000 students )
- Jharkhand (2,23,690 students)
- Haryana (1,55,000 students)
- Kerala (1,32,941 students) and
- Madhya Pradesh (1,14,374 students), thus indicating a steep decline in enrolment, which has far-reaching implications for India towards achieving a 100 percent Gross Enrolment Ratio at the Secondary level of education by 2030, as envisaged by NEP 2020.
It may be observed that the steep decline mentioned concerns enrollment in 2022-23 and not UDISE 2021-22; currently, the latest data available in the public domain. Secondly, the decline reported is in the case of only Grades I to VIII, and not the entire school education is considered (Grades I to XII), and that is also only in the case of schools under Government management. The actual decline concerning the entire school education consisting of Grades I to XII over the previous year 2021-22 may be steeper than the decline reported in enrolment in 2023-24.
Additionally, the drop in enrolment in Himachal Pradesh (21,000), Tripura (15,527), Nagaland (10,000), Mizoram (9,889), and Puducherry (6,236) during the same period was high. Being small states, the decline in these states is considered steeper than in other states and will be adversely reflected in the enrolment ratio.
Reasons for Dip/Decline in Enrolment 2023-24
Officials in several states told The Print that the drop in enrolment resulted from “reverse migration” following the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted that students who had moved from private to government schools due to financial constraints are now returning to private institutions. As per the Unified District Information System for Education (UIDSE+ 2020-21) report released in 2022, nearly four million students shifted to government-run schools during the first year of the pandemic, 2020-21.
Is the decline in enrolment in 2023-24 only due to specified reasons? Or is it because of detailed student data collection (SDMIS) in sync with UDISEPlus initiated in 2022-23, results of which and student-specific details are still awaited even two years after its launch?
Is the decline in enrolment in 2022-23 only because of the enrolment shift from private to government schools? Or maybe a decline in enrollment is also due to fake or duplicate enrollment taken out from the annual data collection because of detailed student data collection. It may also be possible that because of SDMIS during 2022-23, a few schools, mainly integrated schools and private unrecognized schools having a large number of students, might not have reported enrolment data, student-wise, which is also one of the possible reasons of a dip in enrolment.
Decline in Enrolment in 2023-24 Reported from Other States
Apart from the Print Report of October 10th, 2024, the decline in enrollment has also been reported in the media in a couple of other states; links to a few of these are presented below. It seems that States do have access to UDISEPlus data beyond 2021-22 but do have recent data collected through UDISEPlus 2022-23 and 2023-24, but the same is yet to be shared with data users, and there are left no option but to use the outdated UDISEPlus 2021-22 data.
- Student enrollment sees unprecedented decline in Imphal East District for 2023-24 session
- Decline in School Enrolment: Analysis and Response in Jammu and Kashmir
- Admissions in government schools decline in Telangana
- UP. govt-run primary schools register a fall of 24 lakh students in a year
- Drop in Student Enrollment: Maharashtra’s Zilla Parishad
- MP Education Budget Doubled but Enrollment Decline
- Enrolment in Karnataka govt schools dips by 2.5 lakh
Urge to Release the UDISE 2022-23 to 2023-24 Data
However, when available in the public domain, detailed UDISEPlus 2022-23 and 2023-24 data will shed more light on enrolment status in India. Better late than never; the official enrolment is released quickly by the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education.
FAQs: Government School Enrollment Trends in India (2023-2024)
Q: What is the latest trend in government school enrollment in India?
A: As of 2023-2024, there has been a significant decline in government school enrollment across 13 States and Union Territories in India, particularly for Grades I to VIII.
Q: Which state saw the highest drop in enrollment?
A: Uttar Pradesh saw the highest drop, with a decline of approximately 2.8 million (28 lakh) students in 2023-2024 compared to the previous year.
Q: What are some other states that experienced significant drops in enrollment?
A: Other states with notable declines include:
West Bengal (370,719 students)
Karnataka (282,012 students)
Telangana (225,000 students)
Jharkhand (223,690 students)
Haryana (155,000 students)
Kerala (132,941 students)
Madhya Pradesh (114,374 students)
Q: What are the main reasons cited for this decline in enrollment?
A: The main reasons mentioned are:
Reverse migration after the COVID-19 pandemic
Students shifting back to private schools as financial constraints ease
Low mid-day meal coverage
Q: What is the latest official UDISE data available to the public?
A: As of October 11, 2024, the latest officially released UDISE data is for the year 2021-2022.
Q: Is there more recent data available that hasn’t been officially released?
A: Yes, the Ministry of Education reportedly has data for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, but it has not been officially released to the public.
Q: How does this enrollment decline impact India’s educational goals?
A: This decline has far-reaching implications for India’s goal of achieving a 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio at the Secondary level of education by 2030, as envisaged by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Q: Are there any concerns about the accuracy of the enrollment data?
A: Yes, there are suggestions that the decline might also be due to the removal of fake or duplicate enrolments, or because some schools (especially integrated and private unrecognized schools) might not have reported student-wise enrollment data.
Q: What is SDMIS, and how does it relate to this issue?
A: SDMIS stands for Student Data Management Information System. It was initiated in 2022-2023 to collect detailed student data in sync with UDISEPlus. The results of this more detailed data collection might be contributing to the reported decline in enrollment numbers.
Q: What are experts calling for regarding the enrollment data?
A: Experts are urging the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education to quickly release the official UDISEPlus data for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 to provide a clearer picture of the current enrollment status in India
