New Delhi, A parliamentary panel has flagged a “drastic decline” in the number of schools and students as education level rises, noting that nearly 73 per cent students drop out before finishing higher secondary.
The recommendation is part of the Tenth Report of the Committee on Estimates on “Budget and Policy aspects for providing Affordable and Quality Education in the Country including Review of Central Board of Secondary Education”, presented to Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The committee noted that the number of schools at Secondary and Higher Secondary levels are very less when compared with the number of schools at Primary and Upper Primary levels.
It said as per the Unified District Information System for Education 2024-25, out of the total 10,92,671 schools, including all the government and government aided schools, there are 9,11,032 schools at primary level, 4,12,805 schools at upper primary level, 1,61,808 schools at secondary level, and only 90,866 schools at higher secondary level in the country.
With regard to the number of students enrolled, in primary classes there are 6,18,45,033 students and 4,08,93,978 students in upper primary classes from 6 to 8, which reduces to 2,36,68,220 in secondary, and further reduces to 1,64,17,949 in higher secondary classes.
“The committee are concerned to note this drastic decline in number of schools and students as education levels rises,” it said.
“From the above information, the Committee note that out of over 1 million government schools, the vast majority are only primary schools, and nearly 73% of students drop out before finishing higher secondary,” it added.
The committee strongly urged the Ministry to prioritise upgrading existing primary and secondary schools into full higher secondary schools to ensure a high school is physically accessible to students belonging to different communities and to arrest student drop-off rate.
“The Committee are of the view that there is an urgent need to increase the number of schools at secondary and higher secondary levels,” it said.
Considering that education is placed in the Concurrent List of the Constitution with most schools under the jurisdiction of the State Governments and UT Administration, the committee desired the Ministry to impress upon all the State/UT Government to take steps for setting up of more secondary and higher secondary schools so as to increase the enrolment of students in the country.
On facilities for Divyang students to achieve inclusive education across the country, the committee flagged a severe gap in the availability of CwSN friendly infrastructure, noting that more than half of schools across the country are devoid of CwSN-friendly infrastructure.
The committee noted that in order to achieve the objective of inclusive education, the Ministry of Education provides financial support to State Governments and Union Territories to strengthen infrastructure and human resources for inclusive education of Divyang students under the Samagra Shiksha scheme.
To improve physical accessibility of schools, the scheme includes specific provisions for the creation of barrier-free and differently-abled-friendly infrastructure, such as ramps, handrails and accessible toilets, so that children with disabilities can move safely and participate fully in school activities.
Though the committee appreciated the vision of the Ministry, it noted that as per UDISE 2024-25, out of total 14,71,437 schools at national level, only 5,23,143 schools have CwSN toilets, and only 8,08,466 schools have ramps with handrails.
During 2024-25, a budget of ₹482 lakh was allocated for construction of 186 CwSN toilets, however only ₹2.60 lakh was actually utilised with no progress in physical targets.
“The severe gap in the availability of CwSN friendly infrastructure shows that more than half of the schools across the country are devoid of CwSN friendly infrastructure,” the committee said.
The committee further noted that under the financial support for new special educators, only ₹80.50 lakh was utilised against a budgetary grant of ₹962 lakh.
It also noted that a meagre progress was achieved in the area of recruiting/retaining special educators for CwSN students.
On the Ministry’s approach to promoting education for Divyang children, the committee noted that it is rights based, inclusive and holistic.
It said The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 provides that children with benchmark disabilities are entitled to free education up to the age of 18 years.
The NEP 2020 emphasises a Zero Rejection Policy for children with disabilities, ensuring that no child is denied schooling on account of disability. The policy also underscores the importance of preparing and training teachers to handle inclusive classrooms effectively, it said.
“In view of the above, the Committee strongly recommend the Ministry to adhere to yearly targets of budget utilisation and execution of CwSN related projects in a time bound manner,” it said.
The committee recommended the Ministry provide safe and accessible infrastructure to Divyang students in a time-bound manner to achieve the objective of inclusivity in education.
The Ministry should also assess the requirement of special educators across the country and complete their recruitment at the earliest, it said.
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