NEW DELHI: There has been a decline in admissions in Kendriya Vidyalayas, as per a written reply by the Ministry of Education’s Department of School Education and Literacy.
The question asked by BK Parthasarathi from the Telugu Desam Party and Sudha R from Congress highlights that there are 1,280 Kendriya Vidyalayas functioning in the country, with 13,50,518 lakh students studying in those institutions.
In the academic session 2020-21, 13,87,763 lakh students were enrolled in KVs, while as of the 2024-25 academic session, 13,50,518 lakh students are studying. Comparing the two academic sessions, there is a clear drop of 37,245 lakh students, resulting in a drop of approximate 2.86%.
| Year | New students enrolled | Total students studying |
| 2020-21 | 195081 | 1387763 |
| 2021-22 | 182846 | 1429434 |
| 2022-23 | 157914 | 1424147 |
| 2023-24 | 175386 | 1389560 |
| 2024-25 | 139660 | 1350518 |
Comparing the 2024-25 and 2023-24 academic sessions, a drop of 39,042 students across the country is seen. The highest admission rate in the last five years in KVs has been in 2021-22, with 14,29,434 students enrolled.
New students enrolled
The number of new students enrolled in Kendriya Vidyalayas has seen a noticeable decline over the past five academic years.
In 2020–21, the admissions stood at 1,95,081, but it gradually fell to 1,82,846 in 2021–22 and to 1,57,914 in 2022–23. Although there was a slight recovery in 2023–24 with 1,75,386 new enrollments, the numbers dropped sharply again in 2024–25, reaching a five-year low of 1,39,660.
This downward trend indicates a consistent dip in fresh admissions, with the latest figure showing a reduction of over 55,000 students compared to 2020–21.
The Ministry stated that the government has approved the opening of 85 new KVs under the civil, defence sectors across the country in December 2024.
Additionally, there will be an expansion of one existing KV Shivamogga, Karnataka, by adding two additional sections in all the classes. The total estimated cost for these initiatives is approximately Rs 5872.08 crore. The written reply stated that the construction and approval of the KVs in India is a continuous process.
New KV proposals can be initiated by Ministries or Departments of the Central government, state governments, or Union Territory (UT) administrations.
Such proposals have to include some essential resources—like land and temporary accommodation—as per prescribed norms. Approval for establishing new KVs is subject to clearance by the competent authority, following established procedures. KVs are not opened based on the boundaries of states, UTs, Parliamentary Constituencies, or districts.
Kendriya Vidyalayas are established to meet the educational requirements of children of transferable Central government employees, including those in defence and paramilitary forces, central autonomous bodies, central public sector undertakings (PSUs), and central institutes of higher learning (IHLs). These schools offer a uniform curriculum nationwide to ensure continuity in education.