Prayagraj: Private schools have emerged as the preferred choice for a majority of school-going children in Uttar Pradesh, with 51.7% of students from Classes 1 to 12 enrolled in private institutions, although the govt spends more than Rs 1,000 crore annually on the state’s education system.The figures are part of the Project Approval Board report released by the Union education ministry’s Department of School Education and Literacy on June 29. For the first time, the report included details of private schools in the state, providing a comparative picture of school education in UP.According to the report, a total of 2,62,358 schools were operational in the state during the 2024-25 academic session, of which 39.8% were private schools. Despite accounting for less than two-fifths of the total number of schools, these institutions catered to 51.7% of all students enrolled from Classes 1 to 12.In contrast, around 1.37 lakh govt and govt-aided schools, accounting for 52.11% of the total number of schools, had 39.1% of the students enrolled in them. The trend is significant as the state provides a range of benefits to students in govt schools, including free textbooks, uniforms, school bags, shoes and socks, besides mid-day meals for children up to Class 8.The preference for private schools is also notable against the backdrop of nearly 70% of UP’s population living in rural areas.Taking note of the situation, the Project Approval Board recommended strengthening govt schools by improving infrastructure and providing a quality learning experience to ensure that students remain enrolled.The report also highlighted mixed trends in the gross enrolment ratio (GER) across different stages of school education. From pre-primary to Class 2, the GER declined marginally from 33.9 in 2023-24 to 33.6 in 2024-25. However, the GER for Classes 3 to 5 rose from 86.7 to 90.6 during the same period.Similarly, the GER for Classes 6 to 8 increased from 78.8 to 83.9, while the ratio for Classes 9 to 12 rose from 58.5 to 60.9. The state has been advised to take targeted and effective measures to improve the GER across all stages, with special focus on the foundational and secondary stages, while analysing class-wise enrolment trends to identify areas requiring intervention.
