Significant Decline in Schools Under Midday Meal Scheme in India
Overview of the Decline in Schools
The Union government revealed in Parliament that the number of schools participating in the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme has decreased from 11.1 lakh in the 2020-2021 academic year to 10.3 lakh in 2024-2025. This represents a loss of 84,453 schools over a five-year span.
This centrally-funded initiative aims to provide nutritious meals to students in government and aided educational institutions.
The most significant drop occurred between 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, with a reduction of 35,574 schools, bringing the total down to 10.8 lakh, as reported by Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary in response to a question from MP Sanjay Singh.
In the following years, the numbers continued to decline, reaching 10.7 lakh in 2022-2023 (a decrease of 7,604 schools) and further dropping to 10.6 lakh in 2023-2024 (a reduction of 9,509 schools).
By 2024-2025, the total fell to 10.3 lakh, indicating a yearly decline of 31,766 schools, according to data from the Union Ministry of Education.
Uttar Pradesh experienced the most significant decrease, with the number of schools under the scheme dropping from 1.6 lakh in 2020-2021 to 1.4 lakh in 2024-2025, resulting in a loss of 25,361 schools.
Madhya Pradesh followed closely, where the number of schools decreased from 1.1 lakh to over 88,000 during the same timeframe. Assam also saw a decline from 53,427 to 44,106 schools, a reduction of 9,321.
Chaudhary emphasized that the primary responsibility for providing meals to children under this scheme rests with state governments and Union Territories.
He noted that meals are typically served to children for an average of 220 days each year, with approximately 8.5 crore students receiving hot cooked meals daily across more than 10.35 lakh schools nationwide.
Additionally, Chaudhary reported three incidents of food contamination and substandard meal quality during the 2025-2026 period, but assured that all affected children received treatment and there were no fatalities.
In April, the Union government increased the material cost for midday meals from Rs 6.1 to Rs 6.7 per student per day for kindergarten and Classes 1 to 5, and from Rs 9.2 to Rs 10.1 for Classes 6 to 8.
For the 2024-2025 period, the government allocated Rs 12,467.3 crore to the scheme, later revised to Rs 10,000 crore, with only Rs 5,421.9 crore utilized by February 2025.
For the 2025-2026 fiscal year, Rs 12,500 crore has been earmarked in the Union Budget for this initiative.
Decline in Government Schools
Recent data presented in Parliament indicated a consistent decline in the number of government schools across the country over the past six years. The number of schools with zero or fewer than 10 student enrollments has also risen.
The total number of government schools decreased from 10.3 lakh in 2019-2020 to 10.1 lakh in 2024-2025, as stated by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The most significant reductions during this period were observed in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Jammu and Kashmir.
In 2024-2025, Bihar recorded the highest number of school closures at 1,890, followed by Himachal Pradesh with 492 and Karnataka with 462. The states with the most low-enrollment schools during this time were West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra.