'Percentage of students enrolled in civic schools declining'

A report released by the Praja Foundation, an NGO, said Wednesday that the exodus of students from government-run schools in Mumbai has not stopped.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's ploy to distribute freebies such as tablet computers in civic schools is only a "cosmetic" measure, and it does not help provide "quality education", it said.

As per the report, in 2013-14, 4.01 lakh students (45 per cent of all students) were enrolled in municipal schools, which dropped to 2.97 lakh (37 per cent) in 2017-18.

"Enrolment in all types of schools in Mumbai has fallen by 11 per cent in last five years while percentage share of the private unaided and unrecognised schools has risen significantly," said Nitai Mehta, Founder and Trustee, Praja Foundation.

Milind Mhaske, director of the Praja Foundation, said while the number of schools with upto 100 students increased in the last five years from 311 in 2013-14 to 426 in 2017-18, 229 schools have closed in the last ten years .