Key Details
The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) working paper, How India is Transforming Educational Capacity under the National Education Policy 2020 examines whether the location and type of educational provision still match where children study and how learners progress into work.
Changing school network: Reported schools fell from 15.51 lakh to 14.67 lakh between 2018–19 and 2025–26. Primary-only schools fell 12.6%, while schools offering Class XII rose 29.7%. These are changes in reported categories, not a verified count of closures.
Smaller child cohorts: The population aged 5–9 is projected to be 20.1% lower in 2036 than in 2011, using projections based on Census 2011.
Demand shifting by location: Between 2012–13 and 2021–22, enrolment in rural-located schools fell by about 78 lakh, while enrolment in urban-located schools rose by about 93 lakh. School location does not establish that individual pupils migrated.
Stronger reported facilities: The share of schools reporting internet access rose from 18.7% to 67.4% between 2018–19 and 2025–26. Availability does not establish that a connection works reliably or is used.
Beyond school: Higher-education enrolment rose from 3.42 crore to 4.50 crore between 2014–15 and 2023–24, while only 5% of people aged 15–29 reported formal vocational or technical training in PLFS 2025.
School Counts Cannot Tell Parents What Happened to a Campus
A school may leave the primary-only category because it added higher classes, not because it shut. A change in the total count of reported schools can also reflect mergers, management changes or corrections to administrative records. The paper’s central measurement point is that school stocks cannot be read as a ledger of closures.
That distinction does not make access concerns disappear. Where teaching is relocated, the question for families is whether children can reach a capable school safely, regularly and without unaffordable travel costs. The paper favours examining shared teachers and facilities through school complexes before moving pupils, particularly at the primary stage.
National Demography Cannot Set a District’s School Plan
Smaller projected child cohorts may reduce demand in some places, while urban growth raises it elsewhere. State patterns also differ: the paper finds places where enrolment grew despite fewer reported schools and others where enrolment fell despite more schools. It recommends ten-year, district-level forecasts alongside evidence on travel time, receiving-school capacity and local conditions instead of a uniform rule based on enrolment or school size.
The authors propose a School Network Impact Statement before a merger or closure, with community consultation, a review route and monitoring of affected pupils. This is a recommendation in the paper, not a procedure already required nationwide.
More Seats Need Credible Routes Into Work
Expansion in higher education has widened access, but the paper argues that a degree alone offers an uneven path into employment. It cites evidence that 52.8% of employed young graduates were in occupations classified as low-skill in 2022; that figure does not prove those individuals lacked skills.
Under National Education Policy 2020, the authors want academic and vocational learning to connect more effectively. Their concern is not to steer students away from degrees, but to make apprenticeships, transferable credits and qualifications credible routes to both skilled work and further study. Such routes need teaching capacity, supervised workplace learning and recognition beyond a single training provider.
Policy Relevance
The paper presents two linked decisions for education authorities. Where provision changes, states need to know whether a school was upgraded, merged or closed — and what happened to pupils’ journeys and learning. Where provision expands, colleges and training programmes need enough teachers, equipment and recognised progression routes to make a seat or certificate useful.
Its school-network proposals would require evidence that current national totals cannot supply: linked records of school changes, local demand forecasts and outcomes for affected children. Without those, neither a falling school count nor a rising enrolment count can establish that students are better served.
Follow the Full Working Paper Here: How India is Transforming Educational Capacity under the National Education Policy 2020