Government schools are still the backbone of school education in India which serves 55.9 per cent of total student enrolment, estimates revealed by Comprehensive Modular Survey (CMS) on Education, 2025, released as part of the 80th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS) based on an estimated 52,085 households and 57,742 students that identifies trends of household expenditure on school education between April 2025 and June 2025.
On average, the amount spent by the State/Union Territory per student on school education is Rs 37,148 for cities in Haryana whereas parents in Delhi spend at Rs 20,411 per student. The amount spent in Uttar Pradesh, is Rs 19,795 is from Andaman & Nicobar Islands records an average of Rs 39,550, and Chandigarh records average spending to Rs 49,711.
As an average per student spent in the southern states in India is from Andhra Pradesh is 26,078, Tamil Nadu Rs 28,951, Telangana Rs 30,848, and Karnataka Rs 33,962, as reported by NDTV.
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The data reveal that residents in rural and remote areas are statistically more likely to enroll students in government schools with 66 percent of student enrollment happening in government schools, compared to 30.1 percent in urban areas of the country. The share of total enrollment in private Unaided schools was 31.9 percent nationwide.
The survey also showed that most students in government schools pay little to nothing for schooling. In government schools, only 26.7 percent of students said they paid course fees, and in the case of non-government schools, it was 95.7 percent. Of students in urban private unaided schools, 98 percent were paying fees, while only 25.3 percent of students enrolled in rural government schools were paying fees, as reported by NDTV.
There is considerable disparity between spending for students in government versus non-government schools. The spending by government school students is Rs 2,863 per student, while in non-government schools the spending rises to Rs 25,002 annually. When we look across all schools, the largest expense is on the cost of courses, which averages Rs 7,111 per student nationally, followed by textbooks and stationery at Rs 2,002.
The average household expenditure is also clearly higher in urban areas, with these households spending Rs 15,143 in course costs, and Rs 3,979 in rural areas.
Private coaching is another expense of note, with 27 per cent of students attending coaching during the academic year. Coaching is more likely to occur in urban areas (30.7% of students) than in rural areas (25.5%). Household expenditure on coaching also increases as education level increases, with higher secondary students in urban areas spending Rs 9,950 on coaching compared to Rs 4,548 for higher secondary students from rural households.
The survey of college students found that students are funded for school primarily by family sources, with 95 per cent of students reporting that they came from household members. The remaining students reported using government scholarships (1.2 percent).
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