India’s school enrolment falls for third straight year as private schools gain ground

India’s school enrolment has declined for the third year in a row, with the government’s latest education data showing a dip of over 11 lakh students in 2024-25 compared to the previous year. The fall, officials say, reflects both demographic changes and shifting parental preference toward private schools.

According to the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report released recently, total enrolment across the country dropped to 24.69 crore in 2024-25, down from 24.80 crore in 2023-24 and 25.18 crore in 2022-23. This marks the longest enrolment slide in over a decade.

While government schools have steadily lost students, private schools are seeing a surge. Enrolment in government institutions fell from 13.62 crore in 2022-23 to just 12.16 crore in 2024-25, while private school enrolment climbed to 9.59 crore — accounting for 39% of all students, the highest share recorded since 2018.

Officials attributed the continuing dip to “falling birth rates and demographic shifts,” though they cautioned that only a fresh Census would confirm if the shrinking primary school population is the driving factor.

The decline is most visible at the primary level (Classes 1–5). Other levels — pre-primary, upper primary, secondary, and higher secondary — have shown marginal increases, even as dropout rates improved significantly. The secondary school dropout rate fell from 13.8% in 2022-23 to 8.2% in 2024-25.

The number of government schools also slipped slightly to 10.13 lakh, while private schools expanded to 3.79 lakh.

Despite the overall decline, enrolment among girls edged up marginally in 2024-25, even as the number of boys fell. Officials said the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) has remained largely stable, though figures remain tied to projections based on the 2011 Census.

With India’s school system in transition, the data suggests a widening gap: government schools shrinking, private schools expanding, and families reshaping the country’s education landscape.