Reports & Indexes

NITI Aayog Report Flags 94,000 Government School Closures in a Decade

By TestNeeti Editorial TeamPublished Friday, 10 July 2026 2 min readSource: India TodayArticle 10 of 13

A NITI Aayog report titled 'School Education System in India: Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement' found that nearly 94,000 government schools have shut across India over the past decade — an average of about 25 schools closing every day. The number of government schools fell from 11.07 lakh in 2014-15 to 10.13 lakh in 2024-25, while government-aided schools declined from 83,000 to 79,000. In contrast, private schools grew from 2.88 lakh to 3.39 lakh. Total school enrolment dropped by 2.26 crore, from 26.95 crore in 2014-15 to 24.69 crore in 2024-25. NITI Aayog attributed the decline to falling fertility rates, school-consolidation (merger) policies and student dropouts. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh together accounted for nearly 40,000 school mergers and closures.

Key Facts & Details

9 points

1
A NITI Aayog report found nearly 94,000 government schools shut in a decade, averaging 25 closures a day.
2
Government schools fell from 11.07 lakh (2014-15) to 10.13 lakh (2024-25); government-aided schools dropped from 83,000 to 79,000.
3
Private schools grew from 2.88 lakh to 3.39 lakh over the same period.
4
Total school enrolment declined by 2.26 crore, from 26.95 crore to 24.69 crore.
5
Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh together saw nearly 40,000 school mergers and closures.
6
Dropout rates rose from 0.3% (primary) to 3.5% (upper primary) and 11.5% (secondary).

Deep Dive

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The Class 8-to-9 transition rate fell from 91.58% in 2014-15 to 86.6% in 2024-25.
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Puducherry and Kerala recorded transition rates of nearly 99.6%, while Bihar, UP, Jharkhand and MP lagged behind.
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NITI Aayog linked closures to falling fertility rates and the policy of merging low-enrolment schools, though activists warn longer travel distances hurt girls' enrolment.

Exam Focus

Which body released the report on 94,000 government school closures, and by how much did school enrolment fall over the decade?

Exam Relevance & Angle

Reports and their headline data points are frequently tested GA items. This report links NITI Aayog, the striking figure of 94,000 school closures / 25 a day, and the 2.26 crore enrolment drop — precise, examinable numbers relevant to banking, SSC and UPSC aspirants.

Target Exams

SBI POIBPS POSSC CGLSSC CHSLRRB NTPCUPSC CSEState PCS

Background & Context

NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) is the Government of India's premier policy think tank, established in 2015 to replace the Planning Commission; it advises the Centre and states on development strategy and evidence-based policy. It regularly publishes thematic reports and roadmaps across sectors, including education. School consolidation is a policy of merging schools that have very low enrolment with nearby institutions to use teachers, classrooms and infrastructure more efficiently. India's official school data is otherwise tracked through the Education Ministry's UDISE+ system, and indicators like dropout rate and transition rate (the share of students moving from one stage to the next) are standard measures of retention in the school system.