Published on September 6, 2025

Introduction

This analysis, the first in a series on India’s school-education policy, offers an independent, outside-in perspective for stakeholders seeking to understand the system's operational realities and emerging pockets of execution excellence.

Key Drivers of Systemic Change

India's school education landscape is being reshaped by three principal drivers:

• Demographic Transition: A structural decline in fertility rates is leading to a smaller cohort of children entering early grades. This is reflected in the latest national data, which shows a 0.45% year-on-year dip in total school enrolment, primarily concentrated at the primary level.
• Shifts in Enrolment Patterns: A consistent and material migration of households from government-run to private unaided schools is altering the sector's composition. According to UDISE+ data for 2024–25, enrolment in government schools fell by approximately 5.88 million students from the previous year, while private unaided schools saw an increase of 4.82 million. This has shifted the market share, with government schools now enrolling 50.83% of students (down from 52.88%) and private unaided schools enrolling 36.80% (up from 34.42%). This shift is also reflected in the net change in the number of institutions, with 4,338 government schools closing and 8,475 new private unaided schools opening in the last year.
• Evolving Stakeholder Expectations: Parental assessment of school quality is increasingly oriented towards demonstrable learning outcomes rather than input-based metrics. Consequently, states that effectively integrate classroom-level data into near-real-time instructional adjustments are positioned to gain significant stakeholder confidence.

This article focuses on two pivotal themes: (A) State-Level Implementation Dynamics, with a particular focus on the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) initiative and data-driven monitoring models; and (B) The Funding and Regulatory Architecture, examining financial flows through the Samagra Shiksha and PM-POSHAN schemes, public procurement mechanisms, and the trajectory of private school fee regulation.

The Core Architecture of India's School Education

Four pillars anchor the national framework for school education:

• Samagra Shiksha (SS): This is the centrally sponsored, integrated scheme for school education, extending from pre-school to Grade 12. It subsumes three previous schemes—Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), and Teacher Education (TE)—into a single, holistic programme. For the fiscal period 2021–26, the scheme has an approved outlay of ₹2,94,283.04 crore, which includes a central government share of ₹1,85,398.32 crore.
• Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN): Formerly the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, this is one of the world's largest school meal programmes, designed to combat malnutrition and improve attendance for children from pre-primary to Grade VIII. It has a five-year outlay (2021–26) of ₹54,061.73 crore and was allocated ₹12,467 crore in the 2024–25 budget.
• Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI): Approved in September 2022, this scheme aims to upgrade over 14,500 existing government schools into exemplar institutions that showcase the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. With a total project cost of ₹27,360 crore, these schools will serve as "NEP Labs" and mentor other schools in their vicinity. Despite its strategic importance, the initiative covers a small fraction of the total system, representing approximately 1.43% of all government schools and just under 1% of all schools nationwide.
• Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+): This comprehensive Management Information System is one of the largest of its kind globally and serves as the data backbone for planning, resource allocation, and performance assessment. The data informs critical national indices like the Performance Grading Index (PGI), which evaluates state-level school education outcomes.

A. Analysis of State-Level Implementation Dynamics

PM-SHRI: From Policy Blueprint to Ground Reality

The PM-SHRI model selects a maximum of two schools per administrative block (one elementary, one secondary) for intensive investment. The objective is to create local, high-visibility exemplars that are developed as environmentally friendly "Green Schools" and feature a pedagogical focus on inquiry-driven, learner-centric teaching. As of October 2024, 10,855 schools, including 834 Kendriya Vidyalayas, had been selected for the programme.

Two design features are proving instrumental in achieving tangible results:

• Integrated Real-Time Monitoring: Progress is tracked via the SHRI Dashboard, with evaluations of learning outcomes and infrastructure improvements measured through the National Achievement Survey (NAS) and School Assessment System (SAS). This system is designed to convert the planning cycle into a data-informed feedback loop: Data → Budget → Results.
• Establishment of Weekly Improvement Cycles: The most effective state models demonstrate that the crucial element is not the dashboard itself, but the institutionalization of time-bound re-teaching and verification.

• Gujarat’s Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK): uses central competency heatmaps to generate weekly prompts for school clusters (e.g., "Reteach X competency") and reviews progress through school scorecards.
• Delhi’s mentor-teacher model: involves fixed-cycle visits where mentors use a two-column script to log teacher actions versus student evidence, leave one actionable recommendation, and verify the "exit-ticket lift" a week later.
• Uttar Pradesh: In high-performing districts, weekly reviews led by district leadership track the completion of Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings and student mastery gains, achieving similar effects through different tools.

Implementation Efficacy: Leading and Lagging Indicators

• Effective Practices: command centers issuing specific weekly prompts, structured mentoring cycles, and school leadership that safeguards time for small-group instruction.
• Key Indicators to Monitor: percentage of PM-SHRI schools with provisioned operations and maintenance (O&M) budgets; availability of school-level progress data on public dashboards (stronger indicator than state-level aggregates); and diffusion of PM-SHRI practices to neighboring schools.

B. The Funding and Regulatory Architecture: An Examination

The Fiscal Compact: Centre-State Financial Flows

The majority of India’s school education schemes operate on a cost-sharing basis: 60:40 Centre:State for most states and 90:10 for North-Eastern and Himalayan states. The process involves states submitting an Annual Work-Plan & Budget (AWP&B) for approval by the central Project Approval Board (PAB). However, the system faces significant challenges related to cash-flow friction. Delayed fund releases from the Centre and difficulties for states in providing their matching share compress implementation timelines and reduce efficiency. For instance, states like Maharashtra have reported receiving only 23% of their allocated PM-SHRI funds from the Centre and are owed 42% of their Samagra Shiksha share.

Allocation and Procurement Patterns

PM-POSHAN Unit Economics (Post 9.5% Enhancement, 2025)

Sufficiency of Financial Outlays

While core scheme budgets have grown, their sufficiency remains a critical question. The consensus is nuanced: for basic service delivery, current funding is generally adequate, provided states co-finance and utilize funds on time. However, for the NEP-level quality transformation envisioned—including large-scale foundational learning initiatives, teacher development, assessment reform, and the capital expenditure for PM-SHRI—budgets are tight and unevenly distributed across states. The average cost per PM-SHRI school is estimated at ₹1.9 crore over five years, with some states budgeting closer to ₹2.25 crore for secondary school upgrades.

Addressing Implementation Bottlenecks and Fostering Cross-State Learning

Key Systemic Challenges

• Political and Administrative Hurdles: some states have not adopted the PM-SHRI scheme.
• Last-Mile Capacity Constraints: readiness of infrastructure to meet PM-SHRI standards and need for intensive capacity building for teachers/administrators on NEP 2020; leverage DIKSHA for an annual training calendar.
• Operations and Maintenance (O&M): creation of a ring-fenced O&M budget line within state budgets to sustain upgraded infrastructure.

Inter-State Imbibition of Best Practices

States can derive significant value from imbibing successful models from their peers, particularly the data-driven instructional cycles pioneered in Gujarat, Delhi, and parts of Uttar Pradesh. A key insight: while "Samagra puts money in the pipes, whether it becomes learning depends on procurement design and teacher time".

Concluding Analysis

The trajectory of India’s school education sector is one of elevated ambition backed by substantial, if constrained, financial outlays. The mechanics of execution are improving, especially where states convert performance data into weekly instructional action. The next leap is cultural and operational: protect time for teacher collaboration, foster an expectation of small, verifiable weekly gains, and institutionalize O&M funding so upgraded infrastructure delivers lasting value. With sustained discipline, India’s government school system can strengthen performance and regain stakeholder confidence.

Glossary of Key Programmes and Terms

• Samagra Shiksha (SS): India’s integrated umbrella programme for school education (pre-school to Grade 12).
• PM-POSHAN: The national school meal programme.
• PM-SHRI: A scheme to upgrade over 14,500 government schools into exemplar institutions showcasing NEP 2020.
• UDISE+: The national data system for school education, used for planning and performance management.
• DIKSHA: Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing—platform for e-content and teacher training.
• NIPUN Bharat: Mission to ensure foundational literacy and numeracy by end of Grade 3.
• PGI: Performance Grading Index for assessing state/UT education systems.
• AWP&B: Annual Work-Plan & Budget submitted by states for appraisal and funding.
• PAB: Project Approval Board that appraises and approves AWP&B.