New Delhi, Aug. 28 -- India's school enrolment has declined by over 11 lakhs in a year, slipping from 24.80 crore in 2023-24 to 24.69 crore in 2024-25, according to the latest Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report released by the Ministry of Education on Thursday.

This continues a downward trend, enrolment had already declined by approximately 37 lakh students in the 2023-24 academic year, from 25.17 crore to 24.80 crore

When asked about the dip, Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, attributed it to the country's demographic shift, saying the "drop in enrolment is primarily due to the declining fertility rate."

The fall comes even as the report flagged significant gains in...