In 10-yrs, J&K sees decline of over 5000 govt schools: GoI

Arif Rashid
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05 Feb 2025

Srinagar, Feb 05: The Government of India has informed that Jammu and Kashmir has experienced a decline of 5,089 government schools over the past decade. The total number of schools in Jammu and Kashmir decreased from 23,874 in the 2014-15 academic year to 18,785 in 2023-24. This reduction signifies a notable transformation in the educational framework of Jammu and Kashmir. On February 3, 2025, during a session in the Lok Sabha, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Jayant Chaudhary, responded to inquiries from Member of Parliament Rachna Banerjee, regarding the number of government schools that have been closed or merged, as well as the number of private schools established over the last ten years, both state-wise and year-wise. The data presented by the Government of India in the Lok Sabha indicates that in the 2014-2015 academic year, there were 23,874 government schools in Jammu and Kashmir. From 2015-2016, the number decreased to 23,834. The data further revealed that the number of government schools in Jammu and Kashmir increased from 2016-2017 to 2018-2019. Specifically, there were 23,855 government schools in 2016-2017, 23,904 in 2017-2018, and 24,080 in 2018-2019. Number of the govt schools in J&K (2014-15 to 2023-24) 2014-2015: 23,874 2015-2016: 23,834 2016-2017: 23,855 2017-2018: 23,904 2018-2019: 24,080 2019-2020: 23,165 2020-2021: 23,167 2021-2022: 23,173 2022-2023: 18,785 2023-2024: 18,785 Following this period, a significant decline is evident, particularly between 2019 and 2023, resulting in a total of 18,785 schools. In the academic year 2015-2016, the number of private schools in Jammu and Kashmir was recorded at 5,256, which subsequently rose to 5,649 by the year 2020-2021. Number of pvt schools in J&K (2014-15 to 2023-24) 2014-2015: 5,173 2015-2016: 5,256 2016-2017: 5,374 2017-2018: 5,425 2018-2019: 5,552 2019-2020: 5,585 2020-2021: 5,649 2021-2022: 5,526 2022-2023: 5,407 2023-2024: 5,452 However, there was a decline in the number of private schools from 2021 to 2022, with 5,526 schools reported in 2021-2022 and a further decrease to 5,407 schools in 2022-2023. The data indicates resurgence in the number of private schools during the year 2023-2024, which increased to 5,452.