Editorial: Irrational education

Among the more short-sighted policies in force in India is one that describes itself as ‘rationalisation’ of government schools. It is a pernicious programme. Under the guise of merging schools with low enrolment into those with adequate student strength, it effectively shuts down government schools, leaving the field open to private schools.

Over the past decade, there has been a significant decline in the number of government schools nationwide, accompanied by a simultaneous increase in private schools. This trend can largely be attributed to the aggressive implementation of this policy by the central government — both UPA and NDA — and almost all state governments. While this approach may have been intended to optimise resource allocation, the consequences have included reduced access to education for the poor, particularly in rural areas.

According to the Centre’s Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), to which all states report data on schools, 82,410 government schools were shut down between 2015-16 and 2021-22, a fall of 7.4 per cent. Closure due to the pandemic does not explain this staggering number because during that same period, the number of private schools went up by 40,825, a 13 percent increase.

While the spread of private schools in rural India indicates the universal demand for education and testifies to the entrepreneurial spirit of private stakeholders, it also reflects the void left by the government in school education. This has a significant impact on access to education, particularly in rural communities. Closure of government schools disproportionately affects the rural areas, the poor and girl children.

For instance, travel distances increase for rural students, making it more challenging and more expensive for poorer families to keep their children, particularly girl children, in school. As a consequence of the decline in government schools, the average distance between schools and rural households is reported to have increased from 1.27 km in 2010 to 3.11 km in 2020.

Similarly, the proportion of rural children attending private schools increased from 18.7% in 2006 to 30.5% in 2018, suggesting a shift in enrolment patterns due to limited access to government schools. Affordability is the most significant barrier, as private school fees are beyond the means of many rural families. According to one study, 32% of rural families spend more than 10% of their income on education expenses.

The decline of government schools and the limited access to education for rural populations can have severe long-term consequences for Indian society. By reducing access to quality education, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, India risks exacerbating existing socioeconomic inequalities. The reliance on private schools could widen the education gap between rural, urban areas. This disparity impacts individual opportunities and also perpetuates regional imbalances and limits the overall human capital development of the country.

UNESCO has reported that India had the highest number of out-of-school children in the world in 2019, with millions of children from marginalised communities being denied access to education. Constrained access to education could contribute to a widening skill gap, hindering India’s progress towards becoming a knowledge-based economy.

As per UDISE+ figures, the government now employs one lakh fewer school teachers than the number it had in 2015-16. How quality parameters can be shored up despite a higher student-teacher ratio is anybody’s guess.