The Centre has informed Parliament that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have witnessed a decline in student enrolment in government schools in 2023-24 as compared to the previous year.
Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), informed the Lok Sabha that enrolment in Jammu and Kashmir government schools dropped from 14,54,668 in 2022-23 to 14,21,643 in 2023-24. “Similarly, Ladakh recorded a decline from 28,667 students in 2022-23 to 26,275 in 2023-24”.
He said the decline in enrolment in some states and UTs, including J&K and Ladakh, may reflect a statistical shift, as Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) moved from aggregated data to individual student-level data collection from 2022-23 onward.
To address enrolment issues, he listed several interventions under the Samagra Shiksha scheme, including residential schools, free textbooks and uniforms, transport facilities, special hostels, and mid-day meals under the PM POSHAN scheme.
He said financial assistance continues to be provided to states and UTs to implement these interventions and encourage school participation—(KNO)
