**Executive Summary**
This document is the response to Unstarred Question No. 1216 in Lok Sabha, answered on December 8, 2025, regarding unrecognized schools in India. It clarifies the roles of Union and State Governments in managing these schools, referencing the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and lists the number of unrecognised schools State/UT-wise for the year 2024-25. The concerned States/UTs have been shared the details of the unrecognised schools by the Ministry of Education, Government of India to take necessary action at their end.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Jurisdiction over Schools:**
* Education is a concurrent subject; State Governments have jurisdiction over schools they own/fund.
* Matters related to the management of schools not owned/funded by the Central Government are regulated by the respective State Governments.
* Regularizing/taking action against the management of unrecognized schools is the responsibility of the concerned State/UT Government.
* **Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009:**
* Every child (6-14 years) has the right to free and compulsory elementary education.
* Private unaided schools must reserve at least 25% of seats at entry-level for children from weaker sections/disadvantaged groups.
* Schools established before the Act must meet prescribed norms within three years.
* Failure to meet norms results in withdrawal of recognition and closure of the school.
* **Action by Ministry of Education:**
* The Ministry of Education has identified a list of unrecognised schools functioning with UDISE code and shared them with concerned States/UTs.
* **Number of Unrecognised Schools:**
* The annexure provides the State/UT-wise number of unrecognised schools for the year 2024-25.
* The total number of unrecognised schools in India is 19518.
**Impact Analysis**
**State/UT Governments**
* **Impact:** Responsible for regulating and taking action against unrecognized schools within their jurisdiction.
* **Action Required:** Take necessary actions to regularize or close unrecognised schools within their state/UT, in accordance with their own rules and the RTE Act.
**Private Unaided Schools**
* **Impact:** Obligated to reserve 25% of seats for disadvantaged students. Also responsible to fulfill RTE norms for recognition.
* **Action Required:** Comply with RTE Act provisions, including reserving seats and meeting infrastructural/operational norms to avoid loss of recognition.
**Children/Parents**
* **Impact:** Ensures the right to free and compulsory elementary education, but may face disruption if attending an unrecognized school.
* **Action Required:** Parents should ensure children are enrolled in recognised schools to guarantee quality and compliance.
**Ministry of Education**
* **Impact:** Responsible for identifying unrecognised schools and sharing details with States/UTs.
* **Action Required:** Provide support and monitoring of States/UTs to implement RTE Act effectively.
Key Entities Referenced
Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009: Guarantees free and compulsory elementary education for children aged 6-14 and includes provisions for reservation in private schools and norms for schools to fulfill.
Ministry of Education: The Union ministry responsible for school education and literacy, and for identifying and sharing lists of unrecognized schools with States/UTs.
Lok Sabha: The House where this question was raised concerning unrecognized schools.
State Governments: Responsible for the management and regulation of schools, including taking action against unrecognized schools, within their respective jurisdiction.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1216
ANSWERED ON 08/12/2025
Unrecognised Schools
1216. Shri Arvind Ganpat Sawant:
Shri Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav:
Shri Anil Yeshwant Desai:
Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is aware that several schools in the country are operating without
obtaining recognition from the respective State Governments, if so, the details thereof, State/UT-
wise;
(b) whether any norms/guidelines/criteria has been laid down by the Union Government with regard
to establishment and running of schools without recognition/permission from the respective State
Governments, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
(c) whether the Union Government and State Governments have taken any action against the
management of such schools during the last five years, if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
(SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)
(a) to (c): Education is a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution. Schools, other than those
owned/funded by the Central Government, are under the jurisdiction of the respective State
Governments. Therefore, matters related to the management of schools that are not owned/funded by
the Central Government are regulated in accordance with the Rules and Instructions of the respective
State Government concerned. As such, regularizing/taking action against management of
unrecognised schools is a subject matter of the concerned State/UT Government.
However, under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009,
every child aged six to fourteen has the right to free and compulsory elementary education in a
neighborhood school. Section 12(1) (c) of the RTE Act, 2009 mandates reservation in private unaided
schools for children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups to the extent of at least
25% seats at the entry level and provision of free and compulsory elementary education to such
children till its completion.
Also, Section 19 of the RTE Act stipulates that, those schools established before
commencement of the Act and not fulfilling the norms shall take steps to fulfil the norms within threeyears from the date of commencement of the Act. The Act also mandates that, if such schools fail to
fulfil the norms, the recognition shall be withdrawn and the school shall cease to function. The
Ministry of Education, Government of India, has identified list of such unrecognized schools
functioning with UDISE code and has shared the details of the unrecognised schools, with the
concerned States/UTs to take necessary action at their end. The details of the number of unrecognised
schools, State/UT-wise, is placed at ‘Annexure’.
******ANNEXURE
ANNEXURE REFERRRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED
QUESTION NO. 1216 ANSWERED ON 08.12.2025 ASKED BY SHRI ARVIND GANPAT
SAWANT, SHRI SANJAY HARIBHAU JADHAV AND SHRI ANIL YESHWANT DESAI,
HON'BLE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT, REGARDING ‘UNRECOGNISED SCHOOLS’
Details of the number of unrecognised schools, State/UT-wise (2024-25)
State/UT Number of Unrecognised Schools (2024-25)
ANDHRA PRADESH 108
ARUNACHAL PRADESH 28
ASSAM 2475
BIHAR 4159
CHHATTISGARH 12
HARYANA 641
JAMMU & KASHMIR 12
JHARKHAND 5701
KARNATAKA 1
KERALA 765
MADHYA PRADESH 12
MAHARASHTRA 182
MANIPUR 83
MEGHALAYA 491
MIZORAM 57
ODISHA 945
RAJASTHAN 26
TAMILNADU 165
TELANGANA 44
TRIPURA 45
UTTARAKHAND 11
WEST BENGAL 3555
INDIA 19518
Source: UDISE+