And Now Preparations to Close Primary Schools!

  Sanjay Parate on 29th July 2026 at 23:38 Regarding Preparations to Close Primary Schools!   The Comrade Screen        Chhattisgarh: 29 July 2026: --Article by Sanjay Parate//The Comrade Screen)::                              

The true nature of the New Education Policy —and the claims made by Narendra Modi’s RSS-aligned government regarding the propagation of Indian values ​​through it — is gradually being exposed. Through NITI Aayog, the government has signaled its intention to close a large number of primary schools, deeming them economically unviable.

When India gained independence, the average literacy rate was very low. To address this challenge, the educational framework adopted was rooted in the principle that no child in the country should remain outside the ambit of primary education. To this end, it was established in principle that a primary school student should not have to walk more than one kilometer to reach school. This approach yielded positive results ; by 2011, the overall literacy rate had risen to approximately 73%, and the average literacy rate among women had increased to 65%.

Today, there are around 7,30,000 government primary schools in the country. However, more than one-third of these (approximately 250,000 schools) have a total enrollment of fewer than 50 students. About 5% of these schools have fewer than 10 students, while around 8% have an enrollment of only 11 to 20 students.

NITI Aayog holds the view that to bring about sweeping reforms in the education sector and transform the country into a developed nation by 2047, schools with low enrollment should be closed, as operating them is economically inefficient and administratively challenging. Clearly, this approach runs counter to the strategy we have pursued since independence— a strategy aimed at universalizing education and achieving 100% literacy.

NITI Aayog’s perspective reflects a mindset that seeks to commodify education and privatize it right from the primary level. The Modi government’s policy essentially boils down to this : only those with the means should receive an education. Recent incidents of question paper leaks in various examinations further reinforce the message that education and employment are commodities to be purchased by those with the means to afford them.

Even if one assumes an average enrollment of just 30 students per school, closing 250,000 such schools effectively excludes 75 lakh children from the ambit of government primary education. Given that most of these schools are located in remote, inaccessible areas and serve children from poor, tribal, Dalit, and socially backward communities, it is highly unlikely that those excluded from the system will transition to the realm of expensive private education. This will adversely affect literacy rates, particularly among women.

A NITI Aayog report acknowledges that approximately 94,000 schools have closed across the country during the last decade of the Modi administration. The total number of schools nationwide fell from 11.07 lakh in 2014–15 to 10.13 lakh by 2024–25. During the same period, the number of government-aided schools dropped from 83,000 to 79,000. Conversely, the number of private schools rose from 288,000 to 339,000. This implies that 25 to 26 schools are closing daily, while only 13 to 14 private schools are opening to replace them. Clearly, the expansion of private schooling has had a devastating impact on the accessibility and affordability of public education for children. Inevitably, this has led to a decline in government school enrollments— a drop exceeding 2.26 crore students.

However, the Modi government remains indifferent to the interests, concerns, and struggles of the poor. It shows no hesitation in plunging millions of people and families into the darkness of illiteracy to serve the interests of the corporate sector. The policies being implemented in the education sector by the government of the 'Sanghi' clique are set to defeat the goal of universal education and completely dismantle the achievements made so far.

(The author is the Vice-President of the Chhattisgarh Kisan Sabha, affiliated with the All India Kisan Sabha. Contact: 94242-31650)