UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Why are govt. schools shutting down?

Q1. With reference to the findings of the NITI Aayog policy report 'School Education System in India: Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement' (2026), consider the following statements: 1. Government schools account for roughly 68% of all schools in India but for less than half of total student enrolment, whereas private schools account for roughly 23% of schools and about 39% of enrolment. 2. More than one-third of India's schools have fewer than 50 students on their rolls, and every one of these under-enrolled schools is run by a single teacher. 3. The Gross Enrolment Ratio stands at about 91% at the primary level but falls to about 79% at the secondary level and to about 58% at the higher secondary level. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Government schools account for roughly 68% of all schools in India but for less than half of total student enrolment, whereas private schools account for roughly 23% of schools and about 39% of enrolment.
  2. More than one-third of India's schools have fewer than 50 students on their rolls, and every one of these under-enrolled schools is run by a single teacher.
  3. The Gross Enrolment Ratio stands at about 91% at the primary level but falls to about 79% at the secondary level and to about 58% at the higher secondary level.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. Under the Central Rules framed in pursuance of Section 6 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, the largest distance notified as the outer limit of a 'neighbourhood' applies to which category of school, and what is that distance?

  • A. A primary school, three kilometres from the habitation to be served
  • B. An upper primary school, five kilometres from the habitation to be served
  • C. An upper primary school, three kilometres from the habitation to be served
  • D. A secondary school, five kilometres from the habitation to be served

Q3. Samagra Shiksha, the integrated centrally sponsored scheme through which the Union Government supports States and Union Territories in giving effect to the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, is administered by which one of the following?

  • A. The Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education, Government of India
  • B. The Department of School Education and Literacy under the Ministry of Education, Government of India
  • C. The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India
  • D. The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

Q4. In the petitions heard by the Allahabad High Court in 2025 against the Uttar Pradesh Government's order pairing schools with fewer than 50 students, the principal constitutional provision invoked by the petitioners was:

  • A. Article 45, on the provision of early childhood care and education for children below six years
  • B. Article 46, on the promotion of educational interests of the weaker sections of the people
  • C. Article 15(4), enabling special provision for the advancement of socially and educationally backward classes
  • D. Article 21A, on free and compulsory education for children of the age of six to fourteen years

Q5. With reference to the Uttar Pradesh Government's 2025 school-pairing order and the proceedings it triggered, consider the following statements: 1. The order covered primary as well as upper primary schools whose enrolment had fallen below fifty students, which were to be paired with nearby institutions. 2. Before the High Court, the State characterised the measure as 'pairing' rather than closure, submitting that due procedure had been followed, that many of the institutions had minimal or zero enrolment, and that primary schools would continue to function. 3. The High Court delivered its judgment on the very day the hearing concluded in July 2025, quashing the order as violative of the neighbourhood-school guarantee. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The order covered primary as well as upper primary schools whose enrolment had fallen below fifty students, which were to be paired with nearby institutions.
  2. Before the High Court, the State characterised the measure as 'pairing' rather than closure, submitting that due procedure had been followed, that many of the institutions had minimal or zero enrolment, and that primary schools would continue to function.
  3. The High Court delivered its judgment on the very day the hearing concluded in July 2025, quashing the order as violative of the neighbourhood-school guarantee.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q6. With reference to the National Education Policy, 2020 and the arrangements it replaces or revises, consider the following statements: 1. It sets the target of raising the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to 50 per cent by 2030, from 26.3 per cent in 2018. 2. It replaces the 10+2 curricular structure with a 5+3+3+4 design whose foundational stage begins at age three and whose secondary stage runs up to age eighteen. 3. It proposes that schools be grouped into a school complex made up of one secondary school together with other schools and anganwadis lying within a radius of five to ten kilometres. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It sets the target of raising the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to 50 per cent by 2030, from 26.3 per cent in 2018.
  2. It replaces the 10+2 curricular structure with a 5+3+3+4 design whose foundational stage begins at age three and whose secondary stage runs up to age eighteen.
  3. It proposes that schools be grouped into a school complex made up of one secondary school together with other schools and anganwadis lying within a radius of five to ten kilometres.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q7. In the context of the National Education Policy, 2020, the expression 'school complex' denotes which one of the following?

  • A. An integrated campus housing an elementary school and an anganwadi under one management, to be set up within one kilometre of every habitation
  • B. A network of residential institutions in tribal-majority blocks providing schooling from Class VI to Class XII to Scheduled Tribe students
  • C. A grouping of one secondary school with other schools and anganwadis in a five-to-ten kilometre radius, to serve as the basic unit of governance
  • D. A cluster of all government schools within a revenue block, headed by the Block Education Officer, constituted for teacher deployment and transfers

Q8. According to the school education data compiled for 2024-25 and used in the NITI Aayog policy report of May 2026, how many schools does India's school education system comprise across all 36 States and Union Territories?

  • A. About 10.13 lakh
  • B. About 11.07 lakh
  • C. About 14.71 lakh
  • D. About 24.69 lakh