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Enrollment in government schools across India has declined significantly over the last two decades, falling from 71 per cent in 2005 to 49.24 per cent in 2024-25, according to a latest report by NITI Aayog on India's school education system.
The report stated that private schools now account for 44.01 per cent of all secondary institutions, reflecting a major shift in parental preference toward private education. According to the report, this shift is largely driven by the perception that private schools provide better English-medium education, stronger discipline and improved employability opportunities for students. However, the report cautioned that these expectations are not always matched by actual learning outcomes. NITI Aayog stated, "India's school education system has seen a notable shift toward private institutions, particularly at the secondary level. This change reflects parental aspirations for better outcomes, but the private sector's rapid growth also raises concerns around quality, equity, and regulation". It highlighted that 35 per cent of Grade 5 students in low-fee private (LFP) schools are unable to read a Grade 2 text, while 60 per cent cannot solve a basic division problem, raising concerns over the quality of education in many private institutions. The report noted that many low-fee private schools fail to meet infrastructure standards under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. Several schools lack basic facilities such as toilets, playgrounds and clean drinking water. It further stated that teacher recruitment in many such schools is often informal, with underqualified or untrained individuals being hired for full-time teaching roles. Low salaries, job insecurity and limited professional training opportunities have also affected classroom teaching quality and student outcomes. The report also highlighted broader challenges in India's teaching workforce. India currently has around 1.01 crore teachers serving nearly 14 lakh schools across the country. Despite improvements in the pupil-teacher ratio, many rural and underserved regions continue to face teacher shortages and high attrition levels, affecting learning outcomes and student retention. One of the major concerns highlighted in the report is the continued presence of single-teacher schools in remote regions. The report added that more than 1 lakh schools in India are operating with only one teacher, accounting for over 7 per cent of all schools. The report said this situation leaves little scope for meaningful learning improvements for students studying in such schools. It also pointed to several challenges in teacher workforce management, including inadequate deployment, ineffective staffing norms, difficult working conditions, administrative burden, weak pre-service teacher education and insufficient subject expertise. On the technology front, the report noted that the Ministry of Education announced in October 2025 that Artificial Intelligence and Computational Thinking would be introduced from Grade 3 onwards as a universal skill under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and NCF-SE 2023. CBSE and NCERT are expected to develop the curriculum, supported by NISHTHA-led teacher training programmes. However, the report added that infrastructure gaps, uneven teacher preparedness and varying classroom readiness levels may limit the immediate and effective implementation of these new subjects across schools. (ANI)
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