Class I Admissions In Kerala Govt Schools See Sharp Decline For 2025–26

Kerala government and aided schools face declining Class I admissions, dropping to 234,476 in 2025-26—a reduction of 16,510 students from 2024-25 academic year.

This year’s decline is more than twice that of last year, raising concerns among educators and policymakers.

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Kerala government and aided schools have witnessed another year of falling Class I admissions, continuing a worrying trend in the state’s public education landscape. According to official data gathered on the sixth working day of the 2025–26 academic year, enrolment has dropped to 2,34,476 students, down from 2,50,986 in 2024–25—a reduction of 16,510 students, as reported by The Hindu. This year’s decline is more than twice that of last year, raising concerns among educators and policymakers.

Kerala Class I Admissions Decline

Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty, addressing a press conference, attributed the continuing decline primarily to a 2.89% drop in Kerala’s birth rate between 2010 and 2020. The demographic shift has significantly impacted school-age populations across the state.

The enrolment data reflects a consistent downward pattern over recent years. Back in 2021–22, 3,05,824 students had joined Class I in government and aided schools, reported On Manorama. Since then, the state has seen a cumulative decline of over 71,000 new entrants to its public school system.

The most dramatic single-year drop came in 2022–23, when admissions plunged by 37,522 students. That decline was largely linked to post-COVID-19 disruptions, including a surge in home-based learning and an increasing shift by parents toward national curricula like CBSE and ICSE.

The figures for 2025–26 underscore the ongoing influence of demographic changes, as well as evolving parental preferences and educational aspirations, on Kerala’s school enrolment trends. In response, the state government is reportedly exploring new strategies to enhance the appeal of public schools, including curriculum modernization, infrastructure upgrades, and innovative teaching models.