Mon Dec 01 16:56:01 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary of the text and a rewritten news article based on it:

Summary:

Data presented in Parliament by the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan reveals a concerning trend: the number of government schools in India has declined over the past six years. Simultaneously, the number of government schools with fewer than 10 students or zero enrollment has steadily increased, reaching over 65,000 in 2024-25. This trend is particularly pronounced in states like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. Despite the rise in schools with low enrollment, the number of teachers employed at these institutions has also increased. While the government acknowledges the decline in the overall number of government schools, it hasn’t specified how many schools have been closed, merged, or repurposed. The Union Education Minister emphasized that teacher recruitment falls under the purview of the respective State Governments and Union Territory Administrations, and that report submissions were up to the States.

News Article:

Government School Numbers Dwindle, Low Enrollment Rises, Data Shows

New Delhi, December 1, 2025 – Data presented in Parliament today revealed a concerning decline in the number of government schools across India over the past six years. The information, tabled by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, also highlighted a parallel increase in schools with critically low student enrollment.

According to data from the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), the number of government schools with fewer than 10 students, or zero enrollment, surged from 52,300 in 2022-23 to over 65,000 in 2024-25. States including West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana account for a significant portion of these under-enrolled schools.

Ironically, the data also showed an increase in teachers employed at these same schools, rising from 1.26 lakh in 2022-23 to 1.44 lakh in 2024-25.

The data was compiled in response to questions from Congress MPs Karti Chidambaram and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.

The UDISE+ data also showed a decline in overall number of government schools from 10.32 lakh in 2019-2020 to 10.13 lakh in 2024-2025, but did not specify whether this decline was due to closures, mergers, or repurposing.

In his response, Mr. Pradhan emphasized that teacher recruitment and deployment are the responsibility of individual State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. He also noted that the submission of school reports was the responsibility of the individual States and UTs.

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