India closed 14,910 government schools in 5 years: MP, Odisha, J-K record highest losses

India has seen the closure or merger of 14,910 government schools in five years, the data shared by the ministry of education showed. States like Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir saw significant drop in the number of schools compared to other states, raising concerns about access to education in rural, tribal, and conflict-prone areas.

Member of Parliament (MP) of Lok Sabha Anand Bhadauria sought state-wise details of schools closed and merged in the last five years and those proposed to be closed or merged in 2025-26. In response, the ministry of education provided data recorded in the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) system.

The reply only had the state-wise number of government schools from 2019 to 2024 and did not include details on schools funded under SSA that are proposed to be closed or merged during 2025-26, including state-wise, district-wise details of Uttar Pradesh, indicating lack of transparency in the process.

As per the data, the number of government schools in India reduced from 10,32,570 in 2019 to 10,17,660 in 2024, showing a drop of 14,910 or 1.44%.

Madhya Pradesh lost the highest of 6,972 schools in 5 years, followed by Odisha which saw closure or merger of 4,589 schools. Jammu and Kashmir saw a decline of 4,380 schools notably after the J-K Reorganisation Act, 2019. The situation is similar in Assam and West Bengal as well.

The Uttar Pradesh government has been facing strong opposition from students, academics, parents and teachers on UP school merger, with many calling it "anti-education" and a move to further marginalise the disadvantaged and weaker sections of the society. The data showed that the state lost 536 schools over 5 years, and 635 between 2019 and 2023.

In a recent development, the Allahabad High Court has put a stay on the UP school merger after a bench passed an interim order on the petition filed by 51 students from Sitapur district.

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State-wise drop in government schools

In contrast, states like Bihar and Rajasthan saw a significant increase in the number of schools. Bihar got 5,510 more government schools and Rajasthan got 2,573 schools in these five years.

State-wise drop in the number of government schools in the last five years.