Executive Summary:
This document summarizes the response to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1369 regarding funds utilized under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), answered on July 28, 2025. It addresses school closures/mergers, the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and related implementation. The data is based on the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) system.
Key Points / Main Content:
* **School Closures/Mergers:**
* Data on the State/UT-wise number of government schools over the last five years is provided as per UDISE.
* Opening, merging, or closing schools falls under the purview of respective State Governments and UT Administrations, as per the RTE Act, 2009.
* **Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009:**
* The RTE Act, 2009, ensures children's access to elementary schools within defined neighborhood areas or limits.
* Central RTE Rules mandate a primary school within 1 km and an upper primary school within 3 km walking distance.
* States/UTs have notified neighborhood norms for secondary and senior secondary schools, considering their specific conditions.
* **Financial Support and School Establishment:**
* Financial support is provided under Samagra Shiksha for establishing secondary schools within 5 km and senior secondary schools within 7-10 km in States/UTs without notified neighborhood norms for these levels.
* Transport facilities are provided for uncovered habitations, up to ₹6000 per child per annum, up to Class X.
* **National Education Policy (NEP) 2020:**
* NEP 2020 emphasizes that school consolidation must be judicious and should not impact access to education.
* **School Complexes/Clusters:**
* Some states have adopted strategies to establish larger schools to improve learning outcomes and Pupil-Teacher Ratios (PTR).
* School complexes/clusters aim to ensure greater resource efficiency and effective school management.
Impact Analysis:
* **State Governments and UT Administrations:**
* *Impact:* Responsible for decisions regarding opening, merging, and closing of schools within their jurisdiction.
* *Action Required:* Implement RTE Act, 2009, and ensure neighborhood norms are followed.
* **Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL):**
* *Impact:* Oversees and provides data through the UDISE+ system.
* *Action Required:* Continue to monitor and provide financial support under Samagra Shiksha.
* **Schools:**
* *Impact:* May be subject to closure, merger, or consolidation based on decisions made by State Governments/UT Administrations.
* *Action Required:* Adapt to changes and ensure continued access to quality education for students.
* **Students:**
* *Impact:* Access to schools within specified distances as per RTE Act, 2009.
* *Action Required:* Utilize available transport facilities if schools are not within walking distance.
Key Entities Referenced
Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan: A centrally sponsored scheme of the Government of India for school education.
Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education RTE Act, 2009: An Act of the Parliament of India enacted to provide free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right in India under Article 21A of the Constitution.
National Education Policy 2020: A comprehensive framework for elementary education to higher education as well as vocational training in India.
Unified District Information System for Education Plus UDISE: A system developed by the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) to record data on indicators of school education provided by all the States and Union Territories.
Uttar Pradesh: A state in India mentioned in the context of district-wise details of schools proposed to be closed/merged.
Andaman Nicobar Islands: A union territory of India.
Andhra Pradesh: A state in India.
Arunachal Pradesh: A state in India.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 1369
ANSWERED ON- 28.07.2025
FUNDS UTILISED UNDER SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN
1369. Shri Anand Bhadauria:
Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:
(a) the details of schools funded under Samagara Sikhsha Abhiyan (SSA) have been
closed/merged during the last five years, State/UT-wise;
(b) the details of schools funded under SSA proposed to be closed/merged during
the 2025-26, State-wise along with district-wise details of Uttar Pradesh;
(c) whether the RTE Act, 2009 mandates that a primary school (classes I-V) be
established within one- kilometer radius of a child's neighbourhood and an upper
primary school (classes VI-VIII) should be within a three kilometer radius; and
(d) if so, the details thereof and the extent to which Government would ensure
implementation of RTE Act, 2009 in case large numbers of schools are
closed/merged?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
(SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)
(a) to (d): The Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) has developed
the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) system to
record data on indicators of school education provided by all the States and Union
Territories. As per UDISE+, the State/UT-wise number of Government schools of last
5 years are at Annexure.
Education is in the Concurrent list of the Constitution and the opening,
merger/closing of schools are within the purview of respective State Government and
UT Administration-which are the appropriate Government under the Right of Children
to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009
provides children access to elementary schools within the defined area or limits of
neighbourhood. In pursuance to Section 6 of the RTE Act, 2009, the Central RTE
Rules provide that a primary school shall be established within a walking distance of
one kilometre of the neighbourhood and an upper primary school shall be
established within a walking distance of three kilometer of the neighbourhood. The
States/UTs have notified area or limits of their neighbourhood norms, factoring in
their State specific condition, for opening of secondary and sr. secondary schools. In
the case of the States and Union Territories, which have not notified the
neighbourhood norms for Secondary and Sr. Secondary Schools, financial support is
provided under Samagra Shiksha to ensure the establishment of secondary school
within 5 Km and senior secondary school within 7-10 Km of a habitation while
ensuring their viability and cost effectiveness. For the habitations that remain
uncovered (mostly small or sparsely populated in difficult areas) where opening of
school is not feasible, transport facility is provided up to an average cost @ ₹ 6000/
per child per annum up to Class X.
The National Education Policy 2020 underscores that although consolidation
of schools is an option that is often discussed, it must be carried out very judiciously,
and only when it is ensured that there is no impact on access (Para 7.4). Similarly, to
ensure universal access to elementary schools, the RTE Act mandates the
establishment of schools by the appropriate government within defined area or
neighbourhood limits (Section 6). Therefore to achieve better learning outcomes and
appropriate Pupil-Teacher Ratios (PTR) across upper primary and secondary levels,
some states have adopted appropriate strategies to establish the larger schools as
per aspirations of the public
The aim of the school complex/cluster is to ensure greater resource efficiency
and more effective functioning, coordination, leadership, governance, and
management of schools in the cluster.
****ANNEXURE
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) TO (D) OF LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1369 ANSWERED ON 28.07.2025 ASKED BY
HONB’LE MP SHRI ANAND BHADAURIA REGARDING ‘FUNDS UTILISED
UNDER SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN’
The State/UT-wise number of Government schools of the last 5 years is as below:
India/State/UT 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24
India 1032570 1032049 1022386 1016010 1017660
Andaman & Nicobar Islands 342 342 342 342 340
Andhra Pradesh 45115 45145 45137 45167 45000
Arunachal Pradesh 3056 3061 2985 2922 2847
Assam 47157 46749 45490 44925 45008
Bihar 72610 75555 75558 75550 78120
Chandigarh 121 121 123 119 119
Chhattisgarh 48547 48619 48743 48728 48803
Dadra & Nagar Haveli 300 407 388 387 360
Daman & Diu 109
Delhi 2767 2751 2762 2673 2693
Goa 827 821 814 806 789
Gujarat 35040 34967 34699 34651 34597
Haryana 14484 14563 14562 14443 14374
Himachal Pradesh 15398 15391 15380 15447 15217
Jammu & Kashmir 23165 23167 23173 18785 18785
Jharkhand 35931 35888 35840 35764 35795
Karnataka 49834 49791 49679 49520 49306
Kerala 5014 5020 5010 4811 4809
Ladakh 913 915 838 841 841
Lakshadweep 45 45 38 37 37
Madhya Pradesh 99411 99152 92695 92741 92439
Maharashtra 65886 65734 65639 65431 65157Manipur 2876 2878 2889 2922 2934
Meghalaya 7799 7795 7783 7778 7779
Mizoram 2552 2558 2563 2567 2587
Nagaland 2011 1975 1960 1954 1952
Odisha 53260 50256 49072 48767 48671
Puducherry 422 422 422 422 420
Punjab 19377 19330 19259 19245 19242
Rajasthan 67660 68813 68948 69538 70233
Sikkim 851 851 864 864 864
Tamil Nadu 37579 37589 37636 37658 37672
Telangana 30001 30015 30023 29997 30022
Tripura 4275 4265 4262 4245 4238
Uttar Pradesh 137638 137068 137024 137003 137102
Uttarakhand 16741 16651 16484 16381 16201
West Bengal 83456 83379 83302 82579 82307
Source: UDISE, UDISE+
****