Gauree.Malkarnekar@timesofindia.comPanaji: This academic year has seen the biggest-ever dip in govt primary school enrolment in the state, with nearly 2,000 fewer students enrolled in these schools for 2026-27 as against the previous year, 2025-26, as per the state education department’s data.This shows that the trend of shift of children from govt primary schools to govt-aided and private schools is only accelerating. In 2025-26, students enrolled from Class I to IV in state schools were 17,027, and this year the number has come down to 15,163, a difference of 1,864 children.Officials, however, said that from the academic year 2026-27, the cut-off age of six years for admission to Class I was strictly implemented as per National Education Policy in all schools, and the decrease this year in govt schools is a result of the same.However, the decline in enrolment in govt primary schools this year is clearly a trend visible in the data over the last several years.The numbers have been down year on year since 2016-17.The data for the last five years itself shows that from the 2021-22 academic year to the 2022-23 academic year, the enrolment in govt primary schools dipped by 102 students. In 2023-24, it went down by 630 students, and the following year by 957 children.Only in 2025-26, the decline eased a bit over the previous years with 853 fewer students studying in govt primary schools in Goa over 2024-25. Officials also claim that the reducing number of students in govt primary schools is a trend witnessed across institutions due to a declining birth rate in Goa.But this year, the numbers are unexplainable for govt primary schools, as neither in aided schools nor private schools has the decline doubled over what was seen during the pandemic years.In the case of govt primary schools, the number is down by 1,864 students, which is twice the dip in enrolment by 954 students seen in 2021-22 over 2020-21. This was due to children of migrant workers returning home during the Covid-19 pandemic.Earlier this year, even central govt officials had pointed out that though govt schools make up more than half of all schools in Goa, they account for only 13.7% of total student enrolment, prompting Centre to ask the state to conduct a detailed analysis and take corrective measures to restore confidence in govt schools.During a review of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) implementation in Goa, the project approval board (PAB) noted that the state is not “optimally utilising” its govt schools. The Union education ministry said govt schools constitute 52.7% of Goa’s 1,479 schools (780 schools) but enrol only 41,217 students out of a total 3,00,546. In contrast, aided schools enrol 2,18,183 students, or 72.6% of the total, and account for 62.3% of all teachers in the state.The review also highlighted that 433 govt primary schools—around 67%—have fewer than 30 students, while 210 have fewer than 15 students.
