# India lost 10,000 government elementary schools in a year 2026-08-08T00:55:50+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet India’s government elementary schools fell by nearly 10,000 in one year, from 8,89,806 in 2024-25 to 8,79,940 in 2025-26, according to UDISE+ data tabled in the Lok Sabha. Meghalaya, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh recorded the steepest drops. The Centre said school closures are a state subject, but the Right to Education Act guarantees neighbourhood schools. Separately, The Hindu reports Madhya Pradesh’s education department found 7.37 lakh children with no school records. Another 11.38 lakh are at imminent risk of dropping out. NITI Aayog data shows roughly 94,000 government schools closed in the past decade, with a 2.26 crore fall in government school enrolment. Private schools grew from 2.88 lakh to 3.31 lakh in the same period. ## Coverage - thehindu.com - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Tags: education policy, government schools, Madhya Pradesh, NITI Aayog, Right to Education, school closures Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/government-school-closures-hit-poor-students-hardest/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/government-school-closures-hit-poor-students-hardest/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.