Student enrolment in govt schools drops in J&K, Ladakh in 2023–24: Centre

New Delhi, July 21: 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, 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)