By Jayanth R

Copyright thehindu

The enrolment of children in government, aided and private-unaided schools following the State Board curriculum in Karnataka has been declining sharply year-on-year. Compared to the previous year, the enrolment of schoolchildren declined by 5.22 lakh across the State Board schools this year.

The enrolment in government schools declined by about 2.54 lakh, while in aided schools it decreased by 77,000 and by 1.7 lakh children in unaided, private schools.

The admission process of schoolchildren from classes 1 to 10 in government, aided and unaided schools across the State for the year 2025-26 was completed on July 31, 2025 and 99,47,261 students enrolled this year.

In 2024-25, 1,04,69,944 (1.04 crore) children were enrolled in schools. In 2023-24, 1,05,94,694 (1.05 crore) children had enrolled in schools in the State.

In government schools

In 2025-26, 38,20,393 children enrolled in government schools, 11,09,583 in aided schools, 46,66,722 in private unaided schools and 3,50,563 in other schools (run by the social welfare and minorities departments). However, in 2024-25, around 40.74 lakh children were enrolled in government schools, 11.86 lakh in aided and 48.36 lakh in private unaided schools.

According to data, from 2023-24 to 2025-26, enrolment decreased by about 7.26 lakh in government schools. The number of students in private schools during the same period decreased by only 31,000. Interestingly, although the number of children in private schools increased by 1.39 lakh in 2024-25, compared to 2023-24, there has been a decline of 1.7 lakh children this year.

Educationists are of the opinion that the decrease in the birth rate and others factors are the main reason for the decrease in the enrolment in schools.

“The birth rate has decreased due to various factors. At the same time, the decline in enrolment in government schools is a matter of concern. If government schools are to survive, the government should take steps to increase enrolment,” said development educationist V.P. Niranjanaradhya. He stressed on developing basic infrastructure, filling teacher vacancies and providing quality education.

Technical errors in SATS?

The Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka (KAMS), an organisation of private school managements, alleged that the number of student enrolment has fallen due to “technical errors” in the Student Achievement Tracking System (SATS)

“Due to technical errors in SATS, many private schools have not updated the information of students. The DSEL has recently blocked SATS. A letter has been written to the department requesting it to open the SATS and allow the schools to enter student information. In addition, the increase in the number of students migrating from State board schools to Central board schools such as the CBSE and ICSE is another reason for the decline in students in our schools,” said Shashikumar D., General Secretary of KAMS.

K.V. Trilok Chandra, Commissioner of Public Instruction, said, “The decline in enrolment of children in schools is a serious issue. Therefore, emphasis has been placed on the development of basic infrastructure and quality education to attract children to government schools. In this regard, the government has taken steps to increase the number of KPS school and taken other initiatives.” He denied allegations that there were errors in the SATS.