Overview
- UDISE+ 2025-26 shows total school enrolment in Rajasthan fell from 1.67 crore in 2023-24 to 1.59 crore in 2025-26, a net loss of more than eight lakh students.
- The decline was concentrated in government-run schools, which lost about 9.3 lakh students while private-school enrolment rose by roughly 11.3 lakh over the past two years.
- The report flags administrative and staffing anomalies, including 7,200 single-teacher schools serving 1.78 lakh students and 140 schools recorded with teachers posted but no students.
- Opposition leaders have demanded probes and blamed recent state policies for closures of some English-medium schools, while education experts cite falling fertility, migration and parental preferences for better learning and safety as key drivers.
- The figures raise policy questions about whether Rajasthan should shift focus from headline enrolment counts to improving learning quality, school safety and student transitions to higher education or work.