Study finds number of schools in M’laya disproportionate to population size

SHILLONG, Jan 17: One of the major challenges affecting the education sector in Meghalaya is the disproportionately large number of schools as compared to its population size, a new study has revealed.
The study shows that although Tripura has a larger population than Meghalaya, it has only one-third of the number of schools in Meghalaya. Tripura has only 4,929 schools with 4,262 government schools and 43 aided schools, while Meghalaya has a total number of 14,582 schools with 7,783 government schools and 4172 aided schools, official data shows. There are a total number of 55,160 teachers in Meghalaya.
“Manipur, with a similar population, has only 4,617 schools. Additionally, Meghalaya has an unusually high number of aided schools, whereas other states have relatively few. Nationally, aided schools account for less than 5% of the total number of schools, but in Meghalaya, this proportion is 29%,” the study says.
For comparison, Kerala, with a population of 3.34 crore (Census 2011), which is roughly ten times that of Meghalaya, has 15,864 schools.
Himachal Pradesh, which has a more challenging terrain than Meghalaya, has 17,826 schools, serving a population of 68.64 lakh.
The study stated that this disproportionate number of schools in Meghalaya has resulted in skewed student enrolment, with many schools reporting very low numbers, including some with zero or just a few students.
It was also observed that there are 206 schools with zero enrolment and 2269 schools with single-digit enrolment of students.
As far as the deficit & ad hoc schools are concerned, the study revealed that there are eight schools with zero students while 141 schools have single-digit enrolment.
When it comes to the SSA schools, there are 30 schools with zero enrolment and 268 schools with single-digit enrolment.
The situation in government schools is not better as there are 11 schools with zero enrolment and 132 schools with less than ten students.
The study observed that one reason for the large number of schools is that a single school is often counted multiple times in the data.
“This occurs when a private school seeks multiple grants from the government,” the study said.
The 6,702 schools in the state can actually be grouped into 3,029 distinct schools, the study states, adding that if one eliminates the double counting and consolidate the various government grants, the actual number of schools would be 10,867.