India has fewer schools on paper than it did seven years ago, but that headline number tells only half the story. A new working paper from the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), published on 4 November 2026, finds that reported schools fell from 15.51 lakh in 2018-19 to 14.67 lakh in 2025-26, a drop of 5.4 per cent. Yet schools grew bigger, reached higher classes, and gained better facilities, and the paper warns against reading a falling count as closures.
The paper, titled How India is Transforming Educational Capacity under the National Education Policy 2020, is authored by Soumya Kanti Ghosh of the EAC-PM and SBI, along with SBI economist Shashidharan Sharma. Its argument is simple: India is reorganising its school system, and the data used to count schools has not kept pace.
Why the count fell, even as schools grew
The sharpest change is in primary-only schools. Their number fell 12.6 per cent, from 8.27 lakh to 7.22 lakh. At the other end, schools offering education up to Class XII rose 29.7 per cent, from 1.30 lakh to 1.69 lakh. That shift is the key to the whole puzzle.
When a primary school is upgraded to offer classes up to Class VIII or beyond, it stops appearing in the primary-only category. On a spreadsheet, one school seems to vanish. In reality, the same campus now teaches more children, for more years. Mergers, changes in management, and corrections to government records can have the same effect: a school code changes, and the count moves, even though no classroom has closed.
The data cannot prove more than that, the authors say: available figures do not distinguish an actual closure from an administrative change, so treating every missing code as a closure would mislead policy.
Better buildings, more teachers
Whatever happened to the headline count, the paper finds clear gains inside schools. The number of teachers rose from 94.16 lakh to 1.03 crore. Infrastructure improved sharply too:
- Schools reporting electricity rose from 76.7 per cent to 95 per cent.
- Computer availability jumped from 34.5 per cent to 69.9 per cent.
- Internet access climbed from 18.7 per cent to 67.4 per cent.
The authors add a caveat: these figures show availability, not whether facilities work every day.
Fewer children, different map
Behind the changing school map sits a slower, bigger shift: India is having fewer children. The fertility rate fell from 2.1 in 2019 to 1.9 in 2024. The population of children aged five to nine is projected to fall from 12.53 crore in 2011 to 11.27 crore in 2026 and 10.02 crore in 2036.
Where children study is changing too. Between 2012-13 and 2021-22, rural enrolment fell about 78 lakh while urban enrolment rose about 93 lakh. Private unaided share rose from 26.9 per cent to 32.2 per cent, while government share slipped from 58.4 per cent to 54.9 per cent.
Every state tells a different story
National averages hide sharp differences. Of the 34 regions studied, seven, including Bihar, recorded growth in both enrolment and school numbers. Seven more, including Rajasthan, saw enrolment rise even as school numbers fell. In 11 regions, including Madhya Pradesh, both fell. And in nine regions, including Tamil Nadu, enrolment fell while school numbers rose.
Uttar Pradesh showed little overall change, but rural enrolment fell 19.46 lakh while urban enrolment rose 17.60 lakh, a reminder that planning must be local.
The warning on closures
This is where the paper turns from measurement to advice. Governments, it says, should be careful while merging or closing schools with low enrolment. The National Education Policy 2020 does allow schools to be reorganised, but the authors argue against a uniform national target for closures, or a fixed minimum number of students that every school must have.
A small school in a remote village is not the same as a small school in a city with three alternatives nearby. Closing the first could push children out of school altogether. The paper’s message is to look at access, distance, and local alternatives before counting heads. It also flags a skills gap beyond schools: higher education enrolment rose sharply, yet only 5 per cent of 15 to 29 year olds had formal vocational training.
For parents, a school disappearing from a list does not automatically mean a school closing nearby. Still, ask whether the nearest school now teaches higher classes, whether its computers and internet actually work, and how far a child must travel if a small school is merged. The system is changing shape, and whether that helps every child depends on decisions made school by school.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many schools does India have now?
According to the EAC-PM paper, reported schools fell from 15.51 lakh in 2018-19 to 14.67 lakh in 2025-26.
Does fewer schools mean schools are closing?
Not necessarily. Mergers, upgrades, and record corrections can cut the count without closing a classroom.
Why did primary-only schools fall?
They fell 12.6 per cent, from 8.27 lakh to 7.22 lakh, largely because many were upgraded to higher classes.
Have facilities improved?
On availability, yes: electricity 95 per cent, computers 69.9 per cent, internet 67.4 per cent.
Who wrote the paper?
Soumya Kanti Ghosh of the EAC-PM and SBI, and SBI economist Shashidharan Sharma.
Source: EAC-PM working paper, How India is Transforming Educational Capacity under the National Education Policy 2020, as reported on 4 November 2026.
