The number of government schools dropped by 4.1% in Kerala in the past five years. The information was revealed in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary, in reply to a question from MP K Radhakrishnan on school closures across the country over the last five years.

In Kerala, the number of government schools dropped from 5,014 in 2019-20 to 4,809 in 2023-24 — a net loss of 205 schools. The sharpest annual fall was recorded post-Covid between 2021-22 and 2022-23, when 199 schools closed. While the percentage decline is moderate compared to some states, the impact is significant given Kerala’s smaller base of just around 5,000 government schools.

Across India, the largest declines in absolute numbers were in Madhya Pradesh (-6,920), Odisha (-4,589), Assam (-2,149) and West Bengal (-1,149). In percentage terms, Jammu and Kashmir saw the steepest fall of -18.9%, from 23,165 schools in 2019-20 to 18,785 in 2023-24. Other states with notable drops included Uttar Pradesh (-536), Gujarat (-443) and Karnataka (-528).

The only states showing major growth in government schools were Bihar (+5,510, up 7.59%) and Rajasthan (+2,573, up 3.8%). Among southern states, only Tamil Nadu (+93) and Telangana (+21) recorded net increases over the five years.

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