India, June 26 -- A report by the government policy body NITI Aayog has suggested the creation of school clusters, where nearby schools can work together and share teachers, libraries, laboratories and other facilities. Around 14,500 schools in Maharashtra have fewer than 10 students each, and education officials say it is becoming difficult for such schools to provide quality education.

The NITI Aayog report, published on Wednesday, says that India has around 1.47 million schools and more than 246.9 million students. While most children now have access to primary education, a large number leave school before completing their higher secondary education.

The report points out that though there are many primary schools, the number of scho...