Srinagar/New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a sharp drop in the number of government schools over the past five years, with official data presented in the Lok Sabha revealing a decline of 4,386 schools.

According to figures shared by the Ministry of Education in response to an unstarred question,

  the number of government schools in the Union Territory fell from 23,173 in 2021-22 to 18,787 in 2025-26. The count remained largely stable at 18,785 during 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 before registering a marginal increase of two schools in the current academic year.

Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary informed Parliament that education falls under the Concurrent List of the Constitution. Decisions on opening, merging, or closing schools rest with the respective state governments and Union Territory administrations. He noted that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 allows school consolidation only when done judiciously and without affecting students’ access to neighbourhood schools. The policy promotes the idea of school complexes or clusters to improve resource efficiency, governance, and management while protecting educational access.

At the national level, the total number of government schools declined from 10,22,386 in 2021-22 to 10,05,245 in 2025-26, as per data reported by states and Union Territories through the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+). This represents an overall reduction of 17,141 government schools across India in five years. Jammu and Kashmir recorded one of the largest declines among all states and UTs during this period.

The Centre stated that it continues to provide financial support to states and Union Territories under the Samagra Shiksha scheme for strengthening schools, improving infrastructure, constructing classrooms, providing transport facilities, free textbooks and uniforms, and conducting enrolment and retention drives. However, it reiterated that policy decisions on school mergers, closures, teacher recruitment, and deployment remain the responsibility of the respective state governments and UT administrations.

The decline in government schools in Jammu and Kashmir has raised concerns about educational infrastructure and access, particularly in remote and rural areas.

 Authorities have earlier attributed such reductions largely to mergers and rationalisation of schools with very low or zero enrolment, aimed at optimising resources. 

Critics, however, have pointed to potential challenges for students, especially in hilly and sparsely populated regions, where distance to the nearest school could increase.

The data highlights the ongoing shift in India’s school education landscape, where government institutions number declined even as efforts continue under the NEP to improve quality and efficiency of schooling.