India saw 93,000 schools shut down over last 10 years; MP, UP lead closures, govt tells Lok Sabha

Over 93,000 schools across India were closed over the past 10 years with the majority closing in the first six years, union minister of state for education Jayant Chaudhary said in Lok Sabha on Monday. He was responding to a question by CPIM MP Amra Ram from Sikar, Rajasthan.

The closures were most severe in the first half of the decade with more than 70,000 schools – highest on record – shutting between 2014-15 and 2019-20. An additional 18,727 schools were closed from 2020-21 and 2024-25, the written response shared in parliament said.

Between 2014-15 and 2019-20, Uttar Pradesh saw 24,590 schools shut down – highest on record. At 22,438, Madhya Pradesh followed with the second highest figure.

MP, UP, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been under fire for school closures but have denied the extent of shutdowns, Academia360 has reported. Activists have termed the closures “anti-education”.

School Closures: MP, UP see highest shutdowns

Academia360 analysed the 10-year data shared in the written response and found that MP and Odisha have faced highest school closures during both the timelines.

With the highest number of schools closed between 2014-15 and 2019-20, Jharkhand faced more than 5,000 closures, Rajasthan over 2,500, and Maharashtra close to 2,000.

Punjab, Uttarakhand and West Bengal had around 1,000 schools closed from 2014-15 and 2019-20.

State and school closures between 2014-15 and 2019-20

While Jammu and Kashmir saw over 4,000 schools shut down between 2020-21, West Bengal saw over 1,200 and Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh over 600 schools closed between 2020-21 and 2024-25.

States and school closures between 2020-21 and 2024-25

Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, Jammu and Kashmir, after MP, recorded the second highest school closures, followed by Odisha and West Bengal with over 1,000 schools shut.