New Delhi, Aug. 11 -- Clean water, working fans, and proper toilet facilities were among the key demands echoing through student protests across several parts of the country over the past two weeks, highlighting the state of India's public education system.

Nearly 84,000 government and government-aided schools closed between 2018-19 and 2025-26, while enrollment dropped by 15 million children. While the consolidation of low-enrolment schools to optimize resources contributed to fewer school units-and declining birth rates likely played a role in smaller intake-several other critical factors are at play. Inadequate infrastructure, poor learning outcomes, increased travel distances to merged schools, and plateauing public investment in edu...