A Detailed Analysis of Decline in Number of Schools
Covered under
UDISE+ 2019-20
Are we moving
towards privatisation of School Education?
By
Arun C Mehta
Formerly Professor & Head of EMIS Department
NIEPA, New Delhi
Email Id: acmehta100@gmail.com
Background
Because of the limitations in the educational statistics, at the time of
initiating the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) in 1994-95, the
Ministry of Education, Government of India decided to develop a computerized
educational management information system with the school as the unit of data
collection and district as the unit of data dissemination and the task to
develop such as system was assigned to NIEPA, New Delhi which joined hands with
the UNICEF and contributed all through the period 1994-95 to 2017-18.
It was
only the year 2018-19 onwards that the
renamed UDISE+ is being managed by the NIC and located in the Department of
School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education but the first of its
publication was released on 1st July 2021 by the then Minister of
Education under the title, UDISE+ 2019-20 Report even failed to mention the national
institutions which brought the earlier defunct school education statistics managed
by the none other than the Ministry of Education to this level which
practically has overcome most of the limitations in Educational Statistics in
India.
At the time, when UDISE was managed by the NIEPA, New Delhi the time-lag
in the educational statistics was brought to less than a year at the national
level and the Annual Work Plan & Budget under the age-sis of Sarva/Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan was being formulated on
currents years data both of which have now been forfeited badly. Other
achievements of NIEPA towards strengthening EMIS are also fading and fast becoming
history.
The year 2021-22 annual plans have recently been formulated based on
the outdated 2019-20 data unfortunately which is also the latest data. At the
time of writing this note, the process of data collection for 2020-21 is in
progress and the moot question is in which year’s annual plan, data of 2020-21
will be used. Annual plan exercises are now based on stale data, the allegation
which was made on UDISE to gain its control from the national institutions
which were also alleged not having expertise. UDISE at NIEPA used to bring out
a set of 15 publications in a year all of which has now been discontinued along
with the updating of the numerous award-winning internationally acclaimed websites
including the schoolreportcards.in.
The Present Article
While How much we gain: A Case of
UDISE+ is separately been documented, in this note, we confine to coverage
of UDISE+ in terms of the number of schools covered during the period 2017-18
to 2019-20. The analysis is presented both at the all-India and wherever required,
state level and also in the rural and urban areas. Data has been obtained from
the official websites and is available in the public domain.
Coverage: Total Number of Schools
The total number of schools covered under UDISE during the period
2017-18 to 2019-20 presented in Table 1 reveals that the same has significantly
and consistently declined from an all-time high of 15,58,903 schools in 2017-18
to a low 15,07,708 schools covered during 2019-20 data collection which shows
that the latest data is based on a more than 51 thousand less number of schools
than in the year 2017-18. In the percentage terms, the number of schools
covered in 2019-20 was fewer by more than 3 per cent of schools covered in
2017-18.
It may be recalled that 2018-19 was the first year from which UDISE is
being managed by the NIC & Department of School Education & Literacy
during which about 8 thousand fewer schools were covered than in the previous
year i.e 2017-18. The latest 2019-20 UDISE data could cover only 15,07,708
schools which is fewer than 43,292 schools than the same covered in 2018-19; in
percentage terms 2019-20 it was 2.8 per cent of the schools covered during the
previous year. Under coverage of schools in recent years may be due to
different reasons. Further, we also undertake analysis of schools by school
category, management, and its rural and urban distribution all of which reveal
interesting information about coverage. Before that, we undertake an analysis
of the state-wise number of schools covered under UDISE during the same period:
2017-18 to 2019-20 which is presented in Table 2.
Is it because of the decline in the number of schools by 43,292 in
2019-20, the Report of the UDISE+ 2019-20 published recently (July 2021) even
didn’t mention it and nowhere in the document, like enrolment & teachers
present the comparison of the same with the previous year’s figures i.e.
2018-19? It is expected that the managers of UDISE+ i.e. the Department of
School Education & Literacy will furnish the explanation of the significant
decline in the number of schools covered under UDISE+ ever since it has assumed
the responsibility of the same. Rather, it has shed its responsibility by
mentioning “The Ministry of Education, therefore, assumes no
responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the data and
indicators reported in the document” under the disclaimer.
Table 1: Number of Schools (All Schools)
|
Year
|
Total Number
of Schools
|
Increase/Decrease
|
%age Change
|
|
2017-18
|
15,58,903
|
-
|
-
|
|
2018-19
|
15,51,000
|
- 7,903
|
- 0.5
|
|
2019-20
|
15,07,708
|
- 43,292
|
- 2.8
|
|
2017-18 to 2019-20
|
|
- 51,195
|
- 3.3
|
Source: UDISE
& UDISE+, different years. From 1994-95 to 2017-18, DISE/UDISE was
maintained by NIEPA, New Delhi, and thereafter by the Department of School
Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India.
Table
2: State-wise Number of Schools: 2017-18 to 2019-20
|
State/UT
|
2017-18
|
2018-19
|
Increase/
Decrease
|
%age
Change
|
2019-20
|
Increase/
Decrease
|
%age
Change
|
Change Over
2017-18 to 2019-20
|
%age
Change
|
|
A & N Islands
|
417
|
414
|
-3
|
-0.7
|
418
|
4
|
1.0
|
1
|
0.2
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
63633
|
63621
|
-12
|
0.0
|
63824
|
203
|
0.3
|
191
|
0.3
|
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
4061
|
3793
|
-268
|
-6.6
|
3666
|
-127
|
-3.3
|
-395
|
-9.7
|
|
Assam
|
70078
|
66324
|
-3754
|
-5.4
|
65907
|
-417
|
-0.6
|
-4171
|
-6.0
|
|
Bihar
|
88233
|
89224
|
991
|
1.1
|
90275
|
1051
|
1.2
|
2042
|
2.3
|
|
Chandigarh
|
225
|
229
|
4
|
1.8
|
229
|
0
|
0.0
|
4
|
1.8
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
56184
|
56274
|
90
|
0.2
|
56303
|
29
|
0.1
|
119
|
0.2
|
|
D & N Haveli
|
346
|
346
|
0
|
0.0
|
346
|
0
|
0.0
|
0
|
0.0
|
|
Daman & Diu
|
143
|
140
|
-3
|
-2.1
|
137
|
-3
|
-2.1
|
-6
|
-4.2
|
|
Delhi
|
5723
|
5703
|
-20
|
-0.3
|
5669
|
-34
|
-0.6
|
-54
|
-0.9
|
|
Goa
|
1525
|
1486
|
-39
|
-2.6
|
1482
|
-4
|
-0.3
|
-43
|
-2.8
|
|
Gujarat
|
54141
|
54581
|
440
|
0.8
|
54629
|
48
|
0.1
|
488
|
0.9
|
|
Haryana
|
23235
|
23534
|
299
|
1.3
|
23699
|
165
|
0.7
|
464
|
2.0
|
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
18295
|
18212
|
-83
|
-0.5
|
18185
|
-27
|
-0.1
|
-110
|
-0.6
|
|
Jammu & Kashmir*
|
29335
|
29708
|
373
|
1.3
|
29917
|
209
|
0.7
|
582
|
2.0
|
|
Jharkhand
|
49530
|
45908
|
-3622
|
-7.3
|
45596
|
-312
|
-0.7
|
-3934
|
-7.9
|
|
Karnataka
|
77076
|
78233
|
1157
|
1.5
|
77166
|
-1067
|
-1.4
|
90
|
0.1
|
|
Kerala
|
17013
|
16701
|
-312
|
-1.8
|
16665
|
-36
|
-0.2
|
-348
|
-2.0
|
|
Lakshadweep
|
45
|
45
|
0
|
0.0
|
45
|
0
|
0.0
|
0
|
0.0
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
153593
|
154064
|
471
|
0.3
|
133379
|
-20685
|
-13.4
|
-20214
|
-13.2
|
|
Maharashtra
|
110315
|
109942
|
-373
|
-0.3
|
110229
|
287
|
0.3
|
-86
|
-0.1
|
|
Manipur
|
4812
|
4844
|
32
|
0.7
|
4663
|
-181
|
-3.7
|
-149
|
-3.1
|
|
Meghalaya
|
14736
|
14669
|
-67
|
-0.5
|
14730
|
61
|
0.4
|
-6
|
0.0
|
|
Mizoram
|
3919
|
3913
|
-6
|
-0.2
|
3924
|
11
|
0.3
|
5
|
0.1
|
|
Nagaland
|
2839
|
2752
|
-87
|
-3.1
|
2758
|
6
|
0.2
|
-81
|
-2.9
|
|
Orissa
|
69209
|
68717
|
-492
|
-0.7
|
67020
|
-1697
|
-2.5
|
-2189
|
-3.2
|
|
Puducherry
|
733
|
739
|
6
|
0.8
|
741
|
2
|
0.3
|
8
|
1.1
|
|
Punjab
|
28926
|
28637
|
-289
|
-1.0
|
28775
|
138
|
0.5
|
-151
|
-0.5
|
|
Rajasthan
|
105514
|
105883
|
369
|
0.3
|
106240
|
357
|
0.3
|
726
|
0.7
|
|
Sikkim
|
1300
|
1290
|
-10
|
-0.8
|
1277
|
-13
|
-1.0
|
-23
|
-1.8
|
|
Tamil Nadu
|
58474
|
59152
|
678
|
1.2
|
58897
|
-255
|
-0.4
|
423
|
0.7
|
|
Telangana
|
42834
|
42355
|
-479
|
-1.1
|
42575
|
220
|
0.5
|
-259
|
-0.6
|
|
Tripura
|
4928
|
4945
|
17
|
0.3
|
4940
|
-5
|
-0.1
|
12
|
0.2
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
275286
|
273235
|
-2051
|
-0.7
|
254352
|
-18883
|
-6.9
|
-20934
|
-7.6
|
|
Uttarakhand
|
24273
|
23559
|
-714
|
-2.9
|
23295
|
-264
|
-1.1
|
-978
|
-4.0
|
|
West Bengal
|
97974
|
97828
|
-146
|
-0.1
|
95755
|
-2073
|
-2.1
|
-2219
|
-2.3
|
|
Total
|
1558903
|
1551000
|
-7903
|
-0.5
|
1507708
|
-43292
|
-2.8
|
-51195
|
-3.3
|
*Including Ladakh
Source: UDISE, different years.
State-wise
Number of Schools
A glance at the state-wise number of
schools covered UDISE + 2019-20 reveals that as many as 18 states reported a
decline in the total number of schools over the previous year as against 21
states which have shown a decline during the period 2017-18 & 2018-19. In
about 12 states, the per cent decline was more than a percentage point during
the same period. The highest 13.4 per cent decline is observed in Madhya
Pradesh which in the absolute number is as high as 20,685 schools which is
considered huge.
Madhya Pradesh is followed by Uttar Pradesh in terms of
percentage (6.9 per cent) but in the absolute number, the decline in the number
of schools covered in 2019-20 was as high as 18,883 schools. Chandigarh, Dadra
& Nagar Haveli, and Lakshadweep are the only three states which have shown
no decline in the number of schools covered in 2019-20 all of which are in
small size and has only a few schools compared to other states. In another
three states, namely Karnataka (1,067 schools, -1.4 per cent), Odisha (1,697
schools, -2.5 per cent), and West Bengal (2,073 schools, -2.1 per cent) the decline
in the number of schools was in the tune of four digits.
The number of schools during the period
from 2017-18 to 2019-20 further reveals that in as many as 22 states, the number of schools in 2019-20 is observed to be declined from its 2017-18 level
and the number of such schools at the all-India level, as reported above is in
the tune of 51,195 schools which is 3.3 per cent of total schools covered in
2017-18. In the case of five states, namely Assam (4,171 schools, - 6.0 per
cent), Jharkhand (3,834 schools, -7.9 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (20,214 schools, -13.2 per
cent), Odisha (2,189 schools, -3.2 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (20,934 schools,
-7.6 per cent) and West Bengal (2,219 schools, -2.3 per cent), the number of
schools in 2019-20 is fewer by more than two thousand schools which range
between 2,189 schools in Odisha to
20,934 schools to Uttar Pradesh. Why has the number of schools covered
under UDISE+ declined ever since the same was taken over by the Department of
School & Literacy or is it because of the merger of schools to make the
school composite one? Is the decline limited to private unaided schools or
whether the government and aided schools have also been declined answers of all
of which are explored in the following paragraphs?
On the one hand, the number
of schools is declined in the majority of states which is confined to both
small as well as major states, on the other hand, a few states, such as D &
N Haveli and Lakshadweep didn't see any decline all through the period 2017-18
to 2019-20. Bihar (2,042 schools, 2.3 per cent), Gujarat (488 schools, 0.9 per
cent), Haryana (464 schools, 0.2 schools), Jammu & Kashmir (582 schools,
0.2 per cent), Rajasthan (726 schools, 0.7 per cent), and Tamil Nadu (423
schools, 0.7 per cent) all see a slight increase in coverage of school during
the same period. The moot question is whether the merger of schools didn’t take
place in these states. Within these states, barring Tamil Nadu all remaining
five states, including Bihar have shown a consistent increase in the number of
schools covered during the same period.
Rural & Urban Distribution of Schools
The rural and urban distribution of schools covered under UDISE during
the period 2017-18 to 2019-20 presented in Table 3 reveals that more than 84
out of 100 schools are located in the rural areas (83.5 per cent), urban areas
(16.5 per cent) have only 16 out of 100 such schools. Further, it has been observed that the
coverage in terms of schools in the rural areas has consistently declined from
a high of 13,11,976 schools in 2017-18 to 13,04,715 schools in 2018-19 and
further to 12,58,347 schools in the latest year i.e. 2019-20; thus showing a
decline to the tune of 7,261 (-0.6 per cent), 46,368 (-3.6 per cent) and 53,629
schools (-4.1 per cent) respectively during the period 2017-18 to 2018-19,
2018-19 to 2019-20 and 2017-18 to 2019-20. During the same period, the number
of schools covered in the urban areas has increased from 2,46,927 schools in
2017-18 to 2,49,361 schools in 2019-20.
Further, it is observed that of the
total decline of 43,292 schools in 2019-20, practically every school declined
is located in the rural areas (46,368 schools, - 4.1 per cent) as against an
increase of 3,076 schools +1.2 per cent) in the urban areas. Both the rural and urban areas together show
a decline of 51,195 schools in 2019-20 which is -3.3 per cent of total schools
covered in 2017-18. Huge coverage of fewer schools than in the past year must
have some valid reason but the UDISE+ 2019-20 Report failed to present details
of the same less even mentioning the significant decline in the number of
schools covered.
Table 3: Rural
& Urban Distribution of Schools, 2017-18 to 2019-20
|
Year
|
Rural
|
%age
|
Urban
|
%age
|
All Areas
|
|
2017-18
|
1311976
|
84.2
|
246927
|
15.8
|
1558903
|
|
2018-19
|
1304715
|
84.1
|
246285
|
15.9
|
1551000
|
|
2019-20
|
1258347
|
83.5
|
249361
|
16.5
|
1507708
|
|
Increase/Decrease
2018-19
|
-7261
|
|
-642
|
|
-7903
|
|
%age Increase
|
-0.6
|
|
-0.3
|
|
-0.5
|
|
Increase/Decrease
2019-20
|
-46368
|
|
3076
|
|
-43292
|
|
%age Increase
|
-3.6
|
|
1.2
|
|
-2.8
|
|
Increase/Decrease
2017-18 to 2019-20
|
-53629
|
|
2434
|
|
-51195
|
|
%age Increase
|
-4.1
|
|
1.0
|
|
-3.3
|
Source:
UDISE, different years.
Rural & Urban Distribution of Schools by School
Category
The rural & urban distribution of schools by type of school category
reveals that the number of schools covered in 2019-20 is observed to be fewer
in the case of five categories in the rural areas compared to the same in four
categories in the urban areas. It may be recalled that there are ten types of
school categories which are been maintained ever since the year 2012-13 during
which the entire country got covered under the DISE for the first time and data
was collected by using one Data Capture Format. DISE since then is known as
Unified-DISE or popularly as UDISE.
The ten school categories consisting of corresponding grades are Grades
I to V, I to VIII, I to XII, VI to VIII, VI to XII, I to X, VI to X, IX to X,
IX to XII, and XI to XII. Both in the rural and the urban areas, the decline in
the number of schools is observed in I to V, VI to VIII, IX to X, and IX to XII
in addition to which the number of high schools consisting of Grades VI to X has
also declined in the rural areas. In addition, the number of schools with
Grades VI to X has also shown a decline in the rural areas against which the
urban areas have shown a slight increase of 242 schools during the same period.
Further, it may be recalled that the rural areas have shown a huge decline in
the number of schools (46,368 schools, -3.6 per cent) but in the reality, the
actual number of schools declined is much higher than it as there was an
increase in a few school categories which is in the tune of 41,481 schools. In
reality, the actual number of decline in schools in the rural areas is in the
tune of 88,191 schools majority of which is confined to primary (Grades I to V)
only schools (45,804 schools, -6.1 per cent) followed by upper primary (38, 751
schools, -29.3 per cent), secondary (2,117 schools, -7.7 per cent) and higher
secondary (1,276 schools, -7.2 per cent) schools. During the same period,
overall the coverage of schools in the urban areas has increased by 3,076
schools which is 1.2 per cent of the total schools in the previous year.
However, in the urban areas, the total decline is to the tune of 5,886 schools
in 2019-20 0ver the previous year. The brief analysis reveals that the decline
in both the rural and urban areas is confined only to a few school categories
amongst which primary and upper primary schools are the most prominent ones. On
the other hand, elementary (Grades I to VIII) and higher secondary (I to XII) schools
are the main categories both in the rural as well as urban areas which have
shown an increase in the number of the schools in 2019-20. Is it because of the
merger of the primary and upper primary schools into the elementary schools but
the number doesn’t exactly match which indicates that a few schools might have
closed down?
|
|
|
Table 4: Percentage Change
in Number of Schools between 2018-19 & 2019-20 & its Rural &
Urban Distribution
|
|
|
|
School
Category
|
Rural
|
Urban
|
All Areas
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Increase/
Decrease
|
%age
Change
|
Increase/
Decrease
|
%age Change
|
Increase/
Decrease
|
%age
Change
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PS (I-V)
|
-45804
|
-6.1
|
-2336
|
-2.9
|
-48140
|
-5.8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UPS (I-VIII)
|
36709
|
15.8
|
4716
|
6.9
|
41425
|
13.8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HSS (I-XII)
|
1904
|
5.5
|
1533
|
7.2
|
3437
|
6.1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UPS (VI-VIII)
|
-38751
|
-29.3
|
-2423
|
-23.0
|
-41174
|
-28.8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HSS (VI-XII)
|
1058
|
4.0
|
497
|
6.1
|
1555
|
4.5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SS (I-X)
|
1810
|
4.2
|
1852
|
7.3
|
3662
|
5.4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SS (VI-X)
|
-243
|
-0.6
|
242
|
2.4
|
-1
|
0.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SS (IX-X)
|
-2117
|
-7.7
|
-659
|
-9.4
|
-2776
|
-8.1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HSS (IX-XII)
|
-1276
|
-7.2
|
-438
|
-7.3
|
-1714
|
-7.2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HSS (XI-XII)
|
342
|
4.5
|
92
|
1.2
|
434
|
2.8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
-46368
|
-3.6
|
3076
|
1.2
|
-43292
|
-2.8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Source: UDISE+, different years.
Further, the state-wise change in the number of schools in the case of
the selected categories presented in the Table 5 reveals that the coverage of
the primary schools (I to V) declined by a huge 61,858 schools which is 7.4 per
cent of the same in the previous year i.e. 2018-19. Except, in the case of
Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh and Lakshadweep, all the remaining
States & UTs, the UDISE+ 2019-20 data is based on fewer primary schools
than in 2018-19 and
Table 5: Percentage Change
in Number of Schools between 2018-19 & 2019-20
All States, Selected
Categories
|
States/UTs
|
Primary
Schools
(I to V)
|
Elementary
Schools
(I to
VIII)
|
Upper Primary
Schools
(VI to
VIII)
|
All
Schools
|
|
Increase/
Decrease
|
%age
Change
|
Increase/
Decrease
|
%age
Change
|
Increase/
Decrease
|
%age
Change
|
Increase/
Decrease
|
%age
Change
|
|
A & N Islands
|
4
|
1.8
|
-4
|
-5.1
|
0
|
0.0
|
4
|
1.0
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
-1742
|
-4.2
|
1254
|
15.6
|
-148
|
-96.7
|
203
|
0.3
|
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
-349
|
-15.4
|
208
|
20.5
|
-12
|
-18.2
|
-127
|
-3.3
|
|
Assam
|
-559
|
-1.2
|
109
|
2.7
|
-162
|
-2.1
|
-417
|
-0.6
|
|
Bihar
|
-1152
|
-2.6
|
1022
|
2.8
|
-23
|
-8.1
|
1051
|
1.2
|
|
Chandigarh
|
0
|
0.0
|
0
|
0.0
|
0
|
|
0
|
0.0
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
-307
|
-0.9
|
196
|
6.8
|
-62
|
-0.5
|
29
|
0.1
|
|
D & N Haveli
|
-2
|
-1.2
|
2
|
1.5
|
0
|
0.0
|
0
|
0.0
|
|
Daman & Diu
|
-1
|
-2.0
|
0
|
0.0
|
-2
|
-5.3
|
-3
|
-2.1
|
|
Delhi
|
-44
|
-1.6
|
-5
|
-0.6
|
0
|
0.0
|
-34
|
-0.6
|
|
Goa
|
-9
|
-1.0
|
4
|
8.2
|
-7
|
-50.0
|
-4
|
-0.3
|
|
Gujarat
|
-133
|
-1.1
|
-76
|
-0.3
|
-34
|
-4.0
|
48
|
0.1
|
|
Haryana
|
-189
|
-1.9
|
62
|
2.0
|
-53
|
-2.2
|
165
|
0.7
|
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
-121
|
-1.1
|
34
|
4.4
|
-38
|
-1.9
|
-27
|
-0.1
|
|
Jammu & Kashmir
|
-102
|
-0.7
|
98
|
1.0
|
-36
|
-21.3
|
209
|
0.7
|
|
Jharkhand
|
-652
|
-2.6
|
87
|
0.5
|
-54
|
-46.2
|
-312
|
-0.7
|
|
Karnataka
|
-1423
|
-5.4
|
11
|
0.0
|
-496
|
-50.5
|
-1067
|
-1.4
|
|
Kerla
|
-1021
|
-12.6
|
794
|
24.4
|
-1467
|
-69.3
|
-36
|
-0.2
|
|
Lakshadweep
|
0
|
0.0
|
-1
|
-6.7
|
1
|
|
0
|
0.0
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
-20284
|
-22.9
|
16556
|
91.0
|
-17170
|
-57.2
|
-20685
|
-13.4
|
|
Maharashtra
|
-1243
|
-2.3
|
308
|
1.0
|
-56
|
-30.6
|
287
|
0.3
|
|
Manipur
|
-390
|
-13.8
|
102
|
11.3
|
-20
|
-32.3
|
-181
|
-3.7
|
|
Meghalaya
|
-10
|
-0.1
|
38
|
19.5
|
-18
|
-0.5
|
61
|
0.4
|
|
Mizoram
|
-54
|
-3.5
|
50
|
12.6
|
-14
|
-1.3
|
11
|
0.3
|
|
Nagaland
|
-92
|
-7.2
|
77
|
11.0
|
-10
|
-28.6
|
6
|
0.2
|
|
Orissa
|
-1981
|
-5.6
|
357
|
1.9
|
-378
|
-12.6
|
-1697
|
-2.5
|
|
Puducherry
|
-9
|
-3.1
|
1
|
1.3
|
0
|
0.0
|
2
|
0.3
|
|
Punjab
|
-166
|
-1.2
|
91
|
3.7
|
-25
|
-0.9
|
138
|
0.5
|
|
Rajasthan
|
-1511
|
-3.7
|
986
|
2.8
|
-33
|
-13.3
|
357
|
0.3
|
|
Sikkim
|
-37
|
-5.0
|
9
|
3.0
|
-1
|
-100.0
|
-13
|
-1.0
|
|
Tamilnadu
|
-465
|
-1.3
|
-70
|
-0.7
|
-22
|
-18.5
|
-255
|
-0.4
|
|
Telangana
|
-1194
|
-5.4
|
678
|
10.0
|
-131
|
-100.0
|
220
|
0.5
|
|
Tripura
|
-29
|
-1.1
|
1
|
0.1
|
0
|
0.0
|
-5
|
-0.1
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
-24394
|
-15.0
|
27389
|
168.1
|
-23767
|
-37.2
|
-18883
|
-6.9
|
|
Uttarakhand
|
-431
|
-3.0
|
203
|
9.7
|
-111
|
-3.4
|
-264
|
-1.1
|
|
West Bengal
|
-1766
|
-2.3
|
-151
|
-9.2
|
-213
|
-2.8
|
-2073
|
-2.1
|
|
Total
|
-61858
|
-7.4
|
50420
|
17.3
|
-44562
|
-30.5
|
-43292
|
-2.8
|
Source: UDISE+, different years. Note: Apart from
these three categories, there are seven more school categories. For reasons not
known the total number of schools presented above in case of a few categories
don't match well with the same at the all-India level presented above.
the size of the decline in coverage is in the tune of 61,858 schools (-7.4
per cent). It may be recalled that both Madhya Pradesh (20,685 schools, -13.4 per
cent) and Uttar Pradesh (18,863 schools, -6.9 per cent) experienced a huge
decline in the total number of schools (all
categories) in 2019-20 which is more than 91 per cent of the total decline in
the number of schools which otherwise means that 9 out of every 10 schools
declined is in these two states.
Further, it has been observed that like primary schools, upper primary
schools consisting of Grades VI to VIII have also shown a steep decline in the
number of schools covered in 2019-20 UDISE+ data collection which is fewer by
44,562 schools or 30.5 per cent of such schools in 2018-19. It is generally
believed that a decline in the coverage of schools in 2019-20 is because of the
merger of schools to make them composite schools but the same is not reflected
in the corresponding elementary schools consisting of Grades I to VIII in which
primary and upper primary schools are supposed to have been merged. Except in a
few states, the decline in the number of schools does not suggest that it is
only because of the merger of the schools as the increase in the number of
elementary schools doesn’t match well with the corresponding decline in primary
and upper primary schools. As against a total decline of 61,858 primary schools
(-7.4 per cent) and 44,562 upper primary schools (-30.5 per cent) schools,
coverage of elementary schools increased only by 50,420 schools (17.3 per cent). It may also be possible that schools having
VI to VIII grades don't necessarily be merged into the elementary schools; a
few of them might have merged into the high school located on the same campus
or located in the nearby areas. Madhya Pradesh which has experienced the
highest decline in the number of schools has merged schools that are located on
the same campus and has also converted a few schools into composite schools. At
least the UDISE+ 2019-20 report should have discussed the actual reasons behind
the decline in schools along with the state-specific reasons in the absence of
which the decline may be simply be treated as UDISE+2019-20 is based on fewer
schools than in the previous year.
Schools by Management
Table 6 presents the number of schools covered under UDISE 2017-18 to
2019-20 by management along with the increase/decrease in a year and percentage
change over the previous year. Both the schools managed by the government as
well as private management including unaided and unrecognized schools have been
presented. The decline in the number of schools further shows that the decline
is mostly confined to schools being managed by the government managements
amongst which schools managed by the Department of Education is the most
prominent one. It may be observed that the number of schools managed by the
Department of Education increased by 18,450 (2.3 per cent) in 2018-19 over the
previous year i.e. 2017-18 against which the same has shown a steep decline during
the next year i.e. 2019-20 and the decline is in the tune of 50,382 schools
(6.0 per cent) which is 6 per cent less than the number of schools covered in UDISE+
2018-19. The steep decline in the number
of schools managed by the Department of education is a serious cause of concern
and needs explanation about the actual reason behind the decline.
Scrutiny of number of schools by
management further reveals that the number of schools under the Local Body management in 2018-19 was declined by 29,250
schools which is 13 per cent of the total such school in the previous year i.e.
2017-18. The same has further declined by 490 schools in 2019-20. On the one
hand, schools managed by the Department of Education has shown a steep decline
in 2019-20 on the other hand decline in school under the Local Body management
is a serious cause of concern. On the other hand, it has been observed a
significant increase in the number of private unaided schools and the increase
is to the tune of 11,271 schools (3.5 per cent) alone in 2019-20 in addition to
which the same was increased by 4,027 schools (1.2 per cent) in 2018-19.
Table 6: Change
in Number of Schools in 2019-20 over 2018-19, All India
|
School
Management
|
2017-18
|
2018-19
|
Increase/
Decrease
|
%age Change
|
2019-20
|
Increase/
Decrease
|
%age Decline
|
|
Department of
Education
|
817038
|
835488
|
18450
|
2.3
|
785106
|
-50382
|
-6.0
|
|
Tribal Welfare
Department
|
45077
|
45409
|
332
|
0.7
|
46279
|
870
|
1.9
|
|
Local Body
|
225780
|
196530
|
-29250
|
-13.0
|
196040
|
-490
|
-0.2
|
|
Government Aided
|
84420
|
84623
|
203
|
0.2
|
84362
|
-261
|
-0.3
|
|
Private Unaided
(Recognized)
|
322201
|
326228
|
4027
|
1.2
|
337499
|
11271
|
3.5
|
|
Other Govt. managed
Schools
|
2750
|
1322
|
-1428
|
-51.9
|
939
|
-383
|
-29.0
|
|
Unrecognized
|
32916
|
32366
|
-550
|
-1.7
|
29600
|
-2766
|
-8.5
|
|
Social Welfare
Department
|
1626
|
2413
|
787
|
48.4
|
1717
|
-696
|
-28.8
|
|
Ministry of Labor
|
195
|
356
|
161
|
82.6
|
353
|
-3
|
-0.8
|
|
Kendriya Vidyalaya /
Central School
|
1435
|
1566
|
131
|
9.1
|
1259
|
-307
|
-19.6
|
|
Jawahar Navodaya
Vidyalaya
|
486
|
505
|
19
|
3.9
|
626
|
121
|
24.0
|
|
Sainik School
|
71
|
64
|
-7
|
-9.9
|
67
|
3
|
4.7
|
|
Railway School
|
74
|
80
|
6
|
8.1
|
85
|
5
|
6.3
|
|
Central Tibetan School
|
11
|
14
|
3
|
27.3
|
16
|
2
|
14.3
|
|
Madarsa Recognized
(By Wakf Board/Madarsa
Board)
|
19354
|
19150
|
-204
|
-1.1
|
19538
|
388
|
2.0
|
|
Madarsa Unrecognized
|
5469
|
4886
|
-583
|
-10.7
|
4139
|
-747
|
-15.3
|
|
Other Central
Government Schools
|
|
|
0
|
|
83
|
83
|
-
|
|
Total
|
1558903
|
1551000
|
-7903
|
-0.5
|
1507708
|
-43292
|
2.8
|
Source: UDISE, different years.
In addition to schools managed by the government and private
managements, UIDSE also covers unrecognized schools and madarsa both of which have also declined recently. Overall, as
reported above UDISE+ 2019-20 is based on 43,292 schools fewer than the same in
2018-19 which is 2.8 per cent of the total schools covered in the previous
year. Is the decline in schools under the Department of Education is across the
board to examine the same we have also analyzed the number of schools under
this management by school category? Before that number of schools by type of
schools is presented in Table 7.
Number of Schools by Type
The number of schools by type presented
in Table 7 reveals that the decline is confined to only five out of the ten categories.
Boys, co-educational, and girls are the three types of schools for which
distribution of schools is available under UDISE. Further, it has been observed
that most of the decline is confined to either primary or upper primary or
higher secondary schools but affected the co-educational institutions the most.
Table 7 further reveals that of the total number of schools declined during 2019-20
(43,292 schools), 89.70 per cent (38,832
schools) alone are co-educational schools and the remaining 4.54 per cent (1,966
schools) are boys and 5.76 per cent (2,494 schools) girls schools. The number
of schools declined to any school category may not add up to the total number
of schools declined (42,292 schools) because a few of the remaining school
categories; like elementary schools have shown an increase in the number of
schools covered during the same period. Users may get confused the way
UDISE-plus has given names of the school categories, for example, schools
having Grades I to VIII and VI to VIII both are termed as upper primary
schools. Needless to mention that schools having Grades I to VIII are
traditionally termed elementary schools in India.
Table 7: Percentage Change in Number of Schools between 2018-19
& 2019-20 by Type of Schools
|
Type of
School
|
Boys
|
Co-Educational
|
Girls
|
Total Schools
|
|
Increase/
Decrease
|
%age
Change
|
Increase/
Decrease
|
%age
Change
|
Increase/
Decrease
|
%age
Change
|
Increase/
Decrease
|
%age
Change
|
|
PS (I-V)
|
-1383
|
-23.8
|
-45050
|
-5.5
|
-1707
|
-24.2
|
-48140
|
-5.8
|
|
UPS (I-VIII)
|
58
|
2.5
|
41138
|
13.9
|
229
|
7.1
|
41425
|
13.8
|
|
HSS (I-XII)
|
75
|
14.2
|
3197
|
5.9
|
165
|
10.8
|
3437
|
6.1
|
|
UPS (VI-VIII)
|
-722
|
-38.4
|
-39305
|
-29.1
|
-1147
|
-19.4
|
-41174
|
-28.8
|
|
HSS (VI-XII)
|
58
|
3.0
|
1198
|
4.1
|
299
|
7.7
|
1555
|
4.5
|
|
SS (I-X)
|
72
|
8.2
|
3567
|
5.4
|
23
|
1.4
|
3662
|
5.4
|
|
SS (VI-X)
|
-18
|
-2.2
|
193
|
0.4
|
-176
|
-4.5
|
-1
|
0.0
|
|
SS (IX-X)
|
-8
|
-3.3
|
-2732
|
-8.3
|
-36
|
-2.9
|
-2776
|
-8.1
|
|
HSS (IX-XII)
|
-121
|
-17.5
|
-1387
|
-6.6
|
-206
|
-9.9
|
-1714
|
-7.2
|
|
HSS (XI-XII)
|
23
|
17.6
|
349
|
2.4
|
62
|
6.4
|
434
|
2.8
|
|
Total
|
-1966
|
-12.9
|
-38832
|
-2.6
|
-2494
|
-7.9
|
-43292
|
-2.8
|
|
Source: UDISE, different years.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Of the total decline of 48,140 primary
schools, 45,050 schools (93.58 per cent) alone are co-educational as against
1,383 (2.87 per cent) boys schools and
the remaining 1,707 (3.55 per cent),
girls schools. Quite a similar pattern is also observed in the case of upper
primary schools which is declined by 41,174 schools of which 95.46 per cent
(39,305 schools) alone are co-educational schools. Further, it has been
observed that both in terms of absolute and percentage terms, the number of
girls schools declined is a bit lower than boys schools. As many as 3,272 fewer
girls' schools were covered under UDISE 2019-20 compared to 778 more girls
schools were added but confined to only four categories. In addition to primary
and upper primary schools, a good number of secondary schools consisting of
Grades IX & X (2732 schools) and higher secondary schools (Grades IX to XII, 1387 schools) have also declined
all of which are co-educational; these schools are 8.3 and 6.6 per cent of the total
decline in co-educational schools.
As mentioned above, we now analyze the decline in the number of schools
in the case of primary, upper primary, etc schools under the Department of
Education and Private managements.
Table 8: Number of Schools declined by Category under
DoE & Private Unaided Management, 2018-19 & 2019-20
|
School
Category
|
Department of Education
|
Private Unaided
|
|
2019
|
2018
|
Change
over 2018
|
%age
Change
|
2019
|
2018
|
Change
over 2018
|
%age Change
|
|
PS (I-V)
|
474781
|
523383
|
-48602
|
-9.29
|
89517
|
98023
|
-8506
|
-8.68
|
|
UPS (I-VIII)
|
151482
|
114112
|
37370
|
32.75
|
107315
|
95263
|
12052
|
12.65
|
|
HSS (I-XII)
|
15713
|
12674
|
3039
|
23.98
|
35174
|
29501
|
5673
|
19.23
|
|
UPS (VI-VIII)
|
66024
|
108196
|
-42172
|
-38.98
|
16673
|
17257
|
-584
|
-3.38
|
|
HSS (VI-XII)
|
21281
|
19463
|
1818
|
9.34
|
6879
|
6212
|
667
|
10.74
|
|
SS (I-X)
|
16244
|
17128
|
-884
|
-5.16
|
43495
|
40600
|
2895
|
7.13
|
|
SS (VI-X)
|
16335
|
17089
|
-754
|
-4.41
|
11295
|
13404
|
-2109
|
-15.73
|
|
SS (IX-X)
|
11986
|
11580
|
406
|
3.51
|
9083
|
8568
|
515
|
6.01
|
|
HSS (IX-XII)
|
8942
|
9448
|
-506
|
-5.36
|
7624
|
7724
|
-100
|
-1.29
|
|
HSS (XI-XII)
|
2318
|
2415
|
-97
|
-4.02
|
10444
|
9676
|
768
|
7.94
|
|
Total
|
785106
|
835488
|
-50382
|
-6.03
|
337499
|
326228
|
11271
|
3.45
|
DoE: Department of Education
Source: UDISE+ different years.
The Number of Schools by Category: DoE & Private
Unaided Managements
As has already been presented above the decline in the number of schools
covered in UDISE-plus 2019-20 over the previous year is mainly confined to the Department
of Education. Contrary to which, on the other hand, schools managed by the
private unaided managements during the same period has shown significant
increase because of which it has become essential to know more about school
categories those who have decreased or increased. As has already been reported that the total
number of schools covered under the Department of Education was declined by
50,382 schools as compared to an increase of 11,271 schools under the private
unaided managements. The number of schools declined under the Department of
Education is confined to six out of ten school categories and in the rest, two
out of four categories, the decline in the number of schools is steep which is
to the tune of 48,602 schools in case of primary and 42,172 schools in the case
of upper primary-only schools. But for the increase in the number of schools in
a few school categories, the actual number of the total number of schools
declined under the Department of Education is about 93,015 schools. Similarly,
the actual number of schools increased under the private unaided management is
many more than 11,271 schools; which is
22,570 schools. Scrutiny of the number of schools under private unaided
management further reveals that the number of primary schools is declined by
8,506 (8.68 per cent) and on the other hand, elementary education has seen a
steep increase which is to the tune of 12,052 schools (12.65 per cent). It may
be recalled that the coverage of the number of private unaided schools under
UDISE has increased significantly over a period which in the latest 2019-20
data is 337.5 thousand schools which otherwise means that for every 2.33
schools managed by the Department of Education, there is at least one private
unaided school in India, the ratio in the previous year was 2.56. During the
first year of the unification of SEMIS and DISE, a mere 256.3 thousand private
unaided schools were covered in 2012-13. Is India moving towards the
privatization of school education? the available data suggest that slowly but
surely we are moving in that direction which is also reflected in the per cent
share of enrolment in privately managed schools to total enrolment at school
education in India.
Further, it has been observed that not only the primary and upper
primary schools are declined but UDISE 2019-20 data also suggest that the same
in case of schools having secondary and higher secondary grades have also shown
a decline; however, the percentage of such schools in case of schools run by
the Department of Education is a bit lower than the decline in case of other
types of schools mentioned above. On the other hand, the coverage of private
unaided schools during the same period has shown a mixed picture. On the one
hand, primary (8.68 per cent), upper primary (3.38 per cent), secondary (15,73 per
cent) and higher secondary (1.29 per cent) schools have shown a decline, on the
other hand, the schools in the remaining categories, such as higher secondary
(19.23 per cent), secondary (6.01 per cent) and senior secondary (7.94 per cent)
have shown an impressive increase over the previous year.
The above analysis of the number of schools covered in UDISE 2019-20
indicates that of the total 42,292 schools declined the most of the schools
have declined alone in the states of Madhya Pradesh (20,685 schools) and Uttar
Pradesh (18,883 schools) which amount to 93.56 per cent of the total schools
declined. Further, the analysis also indicates that the majority of schools
that declined were confined to the Department of Education. On the other hand,
schools managed by the private unaided managements have increased by more than
11 thousand during the same period. Given this, we have separately analyzed the
decline/change in the number of schools in these two states under the
Department of Education and Private Unaided managements details of which are
presented in Tables 9 &10.
Uttar
Pradesh
Table 9 indicates that a total of 18,883
schools (15.65 per cent) in 2019-20 were fewer than in 2018-19 in Uttar Pradesh,
the actual number of such schools is much higher than this as the number of
schools under a few categories has increased which is to the tune of more than
30 thousand schools which otherwise reflect that the actual number of schools
declined by 49,130 alone in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The distribution of
schools in Uttar Pradesh under the Department of Education in 2019-20 reveals
that barring schools having Grades I to VIII and VI to XII, all other
categories have fewer schools than in the previous year i.e. 2018-19. On the other hand, barring schools having
Grades IX to X, IX to XII, and XI to XII, all other categories have shown an
increase over the previous year in case of private unaided management and the number
of increase in case of a few school categories is quite impressive. Of the
total 6,317 private unaided schools added in 2019-20, 3,635 (28.43 per cent) alone
were the elementary schools compared to which 1,058 primary schools (2.72 per
cent) were added during the same period.
Table
9: Schools by Department of Education & Private Unaided Management: Uttar
Pradesh
|
School
Management
|
Number of Schools Covered
|
|
Change over 2018-19
|
%age Change
|
|
Department
of Education
|
Private
Unaided
|
All Schools
|
Department
of Education
|
Private
Unaided
|
All Schools
|
|
PS (I-V)
|
-25297
|
1058
|
-24394
|
-22.34
|
2.72
|
-15.01
|
|
UPS (I-VIII)
|
23634
|
3635
|
27389
|
23872.73
|
28.43
|
168.07
|
|
HSS (I-XII)
|
0
|
948
|
1074
|
0.00
|
41.34
|
30.26
|
|
UPS (VI-VIII)
|
-23707
|
44
|
-23767
|
-51.15
|
0.30
|
-37.17
|
|
HSS (VI-XII)
|
89
|
811
|
1064
|
18.20
|
17.77
|
12.37
|
|
SS (I-X)
|
-3
|
280
|
443
|
-33.33
|
20.97
|
15.92
|
|
SS (VI-X)
|
-25
|
336
|
277
|
-51.02
|
9.59
|
6.83
|
|
SS (IX-X)
|
-16
|
-536
|
-599
|
-1.11
|
-13.48
|
-10.81
|
|
HSS (IX-XII)
|
-13
|
-251
|
-358
|
-8.55
|
-4.64
|
-6.01
|
|
HSS (XI-XII)
|
-1
|
-8
|
-12
|
-50.00
|
-26.67
|
-32.43
|
|
Total
|
-25339
|
6317
|
-18883
|
-15.65
|
7.22
|
-6.91
|
Source: UDISE+ different years.
Uttar Pradesh data further reveals a decline of 25,297 primary schools
and 23,707 middle/upper primary schools in 2019-20 compared to which an
increase to the tune of 23,634 elementary schools has been observed which maybe
because of the merging of primary and upper primary schools into it but the
UDISE+ 2019-20 report is silent on it. Nor from the state sources, the real
reason behind the steep decline in the number of schools covered under UDISE+
2019-20 can be known. If the decline is due to the merging of schools, equally
important is to know criteria based on which schools have been merged or a few
of them are even closed down.
Madhya Pradesh
Quite a similar picture like Uttar Pradesh emerges when we analyze
coverage of schools under UDISE+ in 2019-20 in the state of Madhya Pradesh
under the Department of Education which has also witnessed a huge decline in
the number of schools which is to the tune of 22,334 schools (-25 per cent)
against which the number of private unaided schools has increased by 6.92 per
cent (2,019 schools). The bifurcation of schools under the Department of
Education in Madhya Pradesh further shows that the majority of schools that are
declined are the primary only schools 18,553 schools, -31.28 per cent) which is
followed by upper primary schools
(17,072 schools, -29.27 per cent). Maybe because of primary and upper
primary schools, the elementary schools increased by more than 13 thousand
during the same period. Not only did the
primary and upper primary schools are declined but a few schools under
secondary (Grades IX & X, 1,871 schools) and higher secondary (Grades IX to
XII, 1,688 schools) categories under the Department of Education have also
shown a decline during the same period.
Table 10: Schools by Department of Education &
Private Unaided Management: Madhya Pradesh
|
School
Management
|
Change over 2018-19
|
%age Change
|
|
Department
of Education
|
Private
Unaided
|
All Schools
|
Department
of Education
|
Private
Unaided
|
All Schools
|
|
PS (I-V)
|
-18553
|
-1263
|
-20284
|
-31.28
|
-28.31
|
-22.92
|
|
UPS (I-VIII)
|
13300
|
3101
|
16556
|
|
18.25
|
90.97
|
|
HSS (I-XII)
|
1065
|
153
|
1217
|
|
3.86
|
29.51
|
|
UPS (VI-VIII)
|
-17072
|
-24
|
-17170
|
-74.38
|
-29.27
|
-57.16
|
|
HSS (VI-XII)
|
680
|
-1
|
709
|
|
-0.96
|
308.26
|
|
SS (I-X)
|
1522
|
154
|
1677
|
|
5.16
|
55.68
|
|
SS (VI-X)
|
283
|
-13
|
301
|
69.19
|
-28.26
|
57.44
|
|
SS (IX-X)
|
-1871
|
-50
|
-1981
|
-54.71
|
-27.62
|
-41.59
|
|
HSS (IX-XII)
|
-1688
|
-35
|
-1705
|
-51.91
|
-9.83
|
-36.54
|
|
HSS (XI-XII)
|
0
|
-3
|
-5
|
0.00
|
-23.08
|
-31.25
|
|
Total
|
-22334
|
2019
|
-20685
|
-25.00
|
6.92
|
-13.43
|
Concluding Observations
The above analysis reveals that there is a decline in the number of
schools covered under UDISE in the recent past and most of the schools declined
under the government management in general and the Department of Education in
particular. On the other hand, the coverage of private unaided schools is on
the rise the percentage share of which is increased from a mere 22 per cent in
2015-16 to 35 per cent in 2019-20 which is also reflected in the corresponding
enrolment at the all levels of schools education in India all which reflect that
slowly but surely India is moving towards privatisation of school education? Is
this a cause of concern or a policy shift from the government to privatisation
of school education? Or our parents have become conscious and are convinced
that their wards can get quality education only in the private schools? These are
the moot questions answers of which must come from the government. The percentage
of government schools have come down from 76.4 per cent in 2011-12 to 67 per
cent in 2018-19 and further to 65.1 per cent in 2019-20. Is the decline due to
low coverage of government schools under UDISE+ or because of merging and
de-merging of government schools. Coverage of unaided private schools under
UDISE+, as reported above have increased by more than 11 thousand schools as
compared to a decline by more than 42 thousand schools in the case of
government schools in 2019-20. Certainly UDISE+ managers i.e. the Department of
School Education & Literacy must come out with the details of the drastic
decline in the number of schools covered under government management in the
recent years or most specifically the year i.e. 2018-19 from which it has taken
the charge of the UDISE+.
Elementary education in India is a constitutional commitment and a
fundamental right of every child of age between 6 to 14 years, are we still
working in that direction? It may be recalled that several centrally sponsored schemes
were launched over time to achieve the goal of universal school education in
India. Over a while, the focus of these programmes was shifted from
strengthening infrastructure to improving retention and further to the quality
of education. Both under the District
Primary Education Programme and Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan programme, a large number of government schools were opened
based on the criteria that each of the habitations of the country must be made
available a primary school within a distance of 1 km and an upper primary school
within a distance of 3 km from the habitation; are these norms still relevant after
SATH-E? Are these being followed anymore or have become irrelevant? Even within
the newly opened schools a student-teacher ratio of 25: 1 was being maintained
in case of primary and 35:1 in case of upper primary level. Hundreds of
thousands of schools with even less than 25 students, were provided teacher(s)
as per the criteria laid down. Still, at one point in time, there was a
shortage of over a million teachers which were never met fully to meet the challenges
of the unfinished task of universal schools education in India. Maybe because
of these reasons the process of merging and de-merging in the name of Sustainable Action
for Transforming Human Capital-Education (SATH-E) was initiated in January
2018 by the NITI Aayog and is termed as rationalisation and consolidation of elementary
and secondary schools. Initially, Odisha, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh were the three
states selected by NITI Aayog under SATH-E which has come to end in March 2020.
These states were selected aiming to
become the role model states in school education. The aim was to merge small
schools having enrolment up to 20 with the nearby (not necessarily within a
distance of 1/3 km) located school equipped with the better number of teachers,
infrastructure, TLM, libraries and other facilities which are essential for
smooth functioning of a school. These small schools were termed as surplus
schools with more than one school in the neighbourhood by the Ministry in 2017
and it was ensured that citizen voices will be respected and merging will not
force children to drop out but the new school may not necessarily be located in
the neighbourhood
as specified under the RTE 2009 Act. At the school level, it was envisaged that
MIS will help School Manager, in fact, the Head Master/Principal of the school
in determining the aims of the school, formulating strategic plans,
distributing resources, and evaluating staff performance as well as
organizational success partially which is currently being looked after under
the ongoing Shaala Siddhi programme
that too funded by the Department of
School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education and continuing even
after SATH-E was launched in 2018. Needless to mention that the data collected through
the seven domains of Shaala Siddhi is supposed to take care
of most of these aspects? Strategic plans under SATH-E is termed School Improvement Plans under the Shaala Siddhi programme presently being
managed by NIEPA. Data up to 2020-21 indicates that in as many as 3,43,028
schools either the self-evaluation under Shaala
Siddhi is completed or in progress. Are the other areas mentioned in SATH-E
not supposed to be taken care of by the ongoing Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan? Are these should not be covered under the
annual work plan formulation under Samagra
Shiksha? And why the merging and
closing of schools are being guided and monitored from the top? Are a few
questions answers of which is not available in the public domain.
Even years before the SATH-E, the process of merging was initiated and a
good number of schools were merged in the states of Odisha, Rajasthan, etc
which was protested by the activists, teachers, and parents. The Report Card
of RTE: 2010 to 2020 by RTE Forum
indicated that as many as 1,47,494 schools were either closed down or merged
till 2017. Does it mean that schools under the DPEP and later SSA were opened
in haste without using scientific techniques such as School Mapping advocated
by the apex international institutions of education planning i.e. IIEP, Paris
and NIEPA, New Delhi? Have we opened new schools where they were not required
or viable or in the process had we had denied the right of many locations that
deserved to have been provided with a new school or up-gradation of an existing
school? Or the academic inputs about the location to open a new school were
denied for non-academic reasons? We had shown hurry in the opening of schools
in the past and now again we are in a hurry to merge or demerge or close down
schools to ensure at least a good school in each location. At the time the
Country was opening new schools the need for GIS Mapping was felt because of
which School GIS covering all the states was developed. Is school GIS being
used under SATH-E to close down or merge schools?
Table 11: Share of
Government & Private Managements: Schools & Enrolment
2018-19 &
2019-20
|
Management
|
Schools
|
Enrolment
|
|
2018-19
|
2019-20
|
2018-19
|
2019-20
|
|
%age
|
%age
|
Number
|
%age
|
%age
|
Number
|
|
Government
|
67.0%
|
65.1
|
981146
|
49.0%
|
48.6%
|
121927212
|
|
Private
Unaided
|
21.0%
|
22.4
|
337499
|
34.0%
|
35.4%
|
88913012
|
|
Government
Aided
|
5.0%
|
5.6
|
84362
|
11.0%
|
10.8%
|
27014238
|
|
Other
Government
Managements
|
3.0%
|
3.4
|
51424
|
2.5%
|
2.5%
|
6215384
|
|
Madrasa
|
2.0%
|
1.6
|
23677
|
1.0%
|
1.3%
|
3183258
|
|
Unrecognized
|
2.0%
|
2.0
|
29600
|
2.0%
|
1.5%
|
3718579
|
|
Total
|
15,51,000
|
100.0
|
15,07,708
|
24,43,38,584
|
100.0%
|
25,09,71,683
|
Source: UDISE+ 2018-19 &
2019-20
The merger of schools has been advocated
by the NITI Aayog to consolidate resources including teachers. The project was
supposed to be monitored by both the state, as well as a central level for
which Central Project Monitoring Unit and National Steering Group were created
at the national level. At the state level, State Project Monitoring Unit was supposed
to have been created. The national-level monitoring teams are being assisted by
international agencies, such as The Boston Consultancy Group (BSG). Ironically
another international agency, The World Bank played a pivotal role in formulating
policy to open new schools under DPEP and now another international agency is
helping India through NITI Aayog to merge, de-merge or even close down schools.
Primal Foundation for Education
Leadership was another private agency engaged in developing the roadmap
for SATH-E along with BCG to kick start the data-driven analysis to promote
academic monitoring of school education across the country. As it looks from
the available resources that the process of merging and close down of schools
initiated through three states will spread to the remaining states of the
country. Do not know whether the national level institutions, like NIEPA
was ever consulted or a part of formulating conceptual note of SATH-E? NIEPA
used to be a great advocate of the use of the school mapping technique to
decide to open a new school or up-gradation of an existing school. Both under
the DPEP and SSA, states claim to have applied school mapping in deciding the
location of a new school? It would be of interest to know whether school
mapping is being carried out under SATH-E in deciding which school is to be merged/closed
down and to merge to which school. In response to the
request of the state, SATH-E 2.0, was commenced by NITI Aayog for another two
years, from October 2020 in the initial three states. However, as it seems from
the media coverage that all are not happy with the merging and demerging of schools
as there are allegations that the process has adversely been affected by the
efforts being made under RTE 2009? Hopefully, The National Commission for Protection of
Child Rights is closely monitoring the
process of merging and closing down of schools and will ensure that it will not
violate the Constitutional provisions and concept of the neighbourhood as specified
in The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE
2009), and will not affect children adversely and
citizens right in the affairs
of education at the local level shall be protected.
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more articles & analysis of current data, visit:
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