Srinagar, Aug 10 (KNO): The number of elementary-level government schools in Ladakh declined by 82 during 2025-26, while the number of such schools in Jammu and Kashmir remained unchanged at 16,196, according to data submitted by the Union Government in the Lok Sabha.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Jayant Chaudhary, stated this in a written reply to Lok Sabha regarding closure of schools due to lack of students.
As per the reply, accessed by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the number of elementary-level government schools in Ladakh stood at 681 in 2024-25 and declined to 599 in 2025-26, marking a reduction of 82 schools.
In Jammu and Kashmir, however, the number remained unchanged at 16,196 elementary-level government schools in both 2024-25 and 2025-26, the data showed.
The Ministry clarified that education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and that the opening, closing and rationalisation of schools fall within the purview of the respective State and Union Territory Governments.
It said the total number of elementary-level government schools, as reported by States and UTs on the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), is reflected in the annexure.
The government also said that advancements have been made in improving universal access across upper-primary, secondary and higher-secondary levels of school education. The Gross Access Ratio increased from 96.49% to 98.14% at the upper-primary level, from 88.24% to 95.05% at the secondary level, and from 65.05% to 94.79% at the higher-secondary level between 2018-19 and 2025-26.
On measures to reduce school dropouts and increase enrolment, the Centre said States and UTs are being supported through the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha and the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) scheme.
Financial assistance is also provided for strengthening school infrastructure, opening and upgrading schools, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, residential schools and hostels, transport allowances, enrolment drives, seasonal hostels, skill education and ICT facilities, besides free textbooks, uniforms and transport or escort facilities.
The government further stated that the PM SHRI Scheme has been launched to develop more than 14,500 selected schools as exemplar schools showcasing the initiatives of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
According to the UDISE+ data, the number of elementary-level government schools across India declined from 8,89,806 in 2024-25 to 8,79,940 in 2025-26.
Among neighbouring northern regions, Himachal Pradesh recorded a decline from 11,724 to 11,465 schools, while Haryana saw a marginal reduction from 10,869 to 10,862 during the same period—(KNO)