Indian government schools play a crucial role in promoting literacy among students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. They reduce illiteracy by providing quick, easy access to students in their neighbourhoods. Unfortunately, there are various problems with government schools in India that make it hard to meet these qualities of education. These problems affect the overall social and economic development of the country. Solutions such as the RTE Act and several government schemes can be implemented to resolve these issues.
First of all, we need to analyse the conditions of government schools in India that are problematic in gaining basic education by students.
The Condition of Government Schools in India
Government schools in India are well-known as the backbone of India’s public education system. These schools are the sole reason that millions of children, especially those who belong to economically disadvantaged and rural communities, can get educated. Many parents are able to get realistic opportunities of providing formal education to their children through these public schools. Their education is possible because of funding from the central, state and local governments to these schools.
Sadly, government schools of today are in worse conditions that are hindering the education of these students. In other words, the problems of government schools in India are responsible for the deteriorating standard of education. It is important to evaluate these problems to articulate effective solutions. Some of the important ones are discussed below.
Improper infrastructure
Most government schools are facing adverse issues such as worn-out infrastructure that needs modernisation with basic facilities. Most of these schools lack basic requirements such as classrooms, blackboards, drinking water, toilets and sanitary facilities.
This poor condition of government schools in India makes the school environment suffocating, and students get dissuaded from attending classes. This situation has become the sole reason for the increased dropout rate of students from these schools. Their strength has reduced from 71% in 2005 to 49.24% in 2024-25, showing a significant fall in government schools. Such broken systems of government schools seem difficult yet possible to repair.
Increase Dependency on Private Schools
Parents are increasingly turning their attention to private schools in response to the poor conditions of government schools. In contrast, private schools often remain in favourable conditions. This is because these schools have abundant facilities that children need for proper education. That is why they are successful in imparting useful knowledge to their students. Moreover, privately managed schools employ serious and competent staff who have years of experience.
Such basic needs have been unavailable in government-aided schools for the past decade, thereby degrading their reputation. As a result, more and more parents are seeking admissions in private schools for their children.
Unequal Allocation of Budget and Unfair Expenditure
The budget allocations to government education departments have improved fairly in recent years. It has expanded at an annual growth rate of 6-8 per cent during the period between 2024 and 2026. Although it has improved, the concerning fact is the apparent gap between the Budget Estimates(BE), Revised Estimates(RE) and Actual Expenditure(AE). This gap indicates the underutilization of the estimated budget allocation. For instance, the RE for the year 2024-25 was adjusted down to 1,21,949 crore from the BE of 1,28,650 crore for the year 2025-26. It had to be adjusted because of delays in fund releases, bottlenecks and remaining balances in schemes like Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.
Shortage of Teachers
The government and government-aided schools greatly suffer from a shortage of teachers. Due to prolonged recruitment processes, schools face difficulty in employing regular teachers. Owing to this situation, more than half of the vacancies are filled by guest teachers or ad hoc teachers.
Why are government schools failing and closing?
A recent report by NITI Aayog has revealed that approximately 94000 schools were closed during the last decade. This estimate reveals a decline of 2.26 crore enrolments in government schools. The Indian government had to close thousands of them throughout the country because of the problems enumerated above. On the other hand, policies of rationalisation, consolidation and cluster development required state governments to close down or merge these public schools.
The rationalisation also led to a substantial decrease in neighbourhood schools for students facing poverty. The RTE Act, 2009 has made these schools mandatory, but their absence led to a drop in student enrolments from 71% in 2005 to 41% in 2024-25.
The Scope of Improvement in Government Schools of India
The government has contributed greatly to the development of the Indian government-funded schools. It has been successful in providing basic facilities such as safe drinking water, separate toilets for boys and girls, electricity and playgrounds. However, more efforts are needed to make public schools full-fledged and breathing grounds for children. The following things could be done:
Implement the RTE Act, 2009
The merger of government schools or their closures have led to a decline in student enrolments. Students should have easy-to-reach neighbourhood schools to increase enrolment rates. It is a right mentioned in the RTE Act, 2009, to build neighbourhood schools in every corner of India. The government should also make provisions for regular transportation of children to primary schools.
Assess the Impact of School Closures on Indians
The government should assess the impact of closures on girls, SC/ST communities, children with disabilities and migrant children. It should focus on enabling these marginal communities to access a good quality of education.
Filling up of Teacher Vacancies
Almost half of the problems of government schools in India could be solved by filling up vacancies with the required number of teachers. This strategy also plays a pivotal role in improving the standards of the Indian education system. The NEP 2020 and Right to Education(RTE) have laid down the Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) of 30:1. That means if each class had thirty students and one teacher, then it would bring profound changes to making a better education system in India.
For this purpose, the government needs to provide high-quality teacher training programs that increase their potential. It can take advantage of Information and Communication Technology(ICT) tools to provide related courses on an on-demand basis. Other than these tools, teachers should also be encouraged to acquire teaching qualifications such as B.Ed as mentioned by the National Council for Teacher Education(NCTE) Act,1993
Upgrade Basic Infrastructure
The government can utilise the allocated budget and spend on improving the deplorable condition of schools to educate enrolled students without any obstacle. Expenditures should be made on the construction of strong school buildings with classrooms, labs for all subjects, libraries with updated books and magazines and clean sanitary spaces. Electricity can be supplied at all the time and maintain a clean environment. These facilities would help schools to retain students and increase their enrolment rates.
Use Technical Solutions for Learning Materials
Nowadays, intelligent teaching systems and tools are becoming ideal mediums to help students hone their basic skills such as reading and mathematics. These systems generate high-quality content that can be available in multiple Indian languages. These ICT tools can also be used to track teacher attendance.
Major Government Schemes for Indian Education
Major schemes were formulated to enhance the infrastructure of government schools in India. Some of them are:
Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan
The Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan is an integrated scheme that combines schemes circulated in previous years for primary and secondary education and teacher education. These schemes emphasise the quality of education, improvements in basic infrastructure and equity for disadvantaged groups.
PM POSHAN
The PM POSHAN scheme was formerly known as the mid-day meal scheme and was launched in 1995. It is the most recognised government scheme that aims at providing nutritional support to over 11 crore children. Through this scheme, the government provides mid-day meals in schools to meet the purpose of retaining regular attendance and maintaining student health.
Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao
Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao is a government scheme for the welfare and education of the girl child. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015. The scheme’s key aspects were:
- Promoting girl child empowerment
- Preventing gender discrimination
- Protection of the girl child
- Promoting female education
Conclusion
There would be minimal problems of government schools in India if the initiatives and measures enumerated above are implemented regularly. Schools would become a better and safer place after implementation of these measures and maintaining schools in good condition.


