86 lakh fewer students in government schools. 88 lakh+ more students in…

86 lakh fewer students in government schools.
88 lakh+ more students in private unaided schools.

And yet India’s total school enrolment still fell.

So the obvious explanation — “there are simply fewer children” — doesn’t explain the whole picture.

Yes, India’s birth rate is falling.

But birth rates don’t choose schools. Parents do.

And then there’s Uttar Pradesh.

Thousands of low-enrolment government schools were targeted for merger. Students challenged the policy in the Allahabad High Court. The courts have so far largely allowed the government’s approach to continue, while the specific Sitapur matter remains ongoing.

But the bigger question is:

Where exactly are these government schools disappearing?

Because a national number can tell us that something is happening.

It cannot tell us where, why, and to whom.

So we’re filing an RTI for the district-wise list of government schools being closed or merged.

Let’s see what the data says.

Do you think falling birth rates explain this shift — or is something else happening?

— VICHAR Media | Think Loud

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