The Great Consolidation, Reimagining India’s School System for Equity, Excellence, and Scale by 2035

The Great Consolidation, Reimagining India’s School System for Equity, Excellence, and Scale by 2035

For decades, the Indian school education landscape has been characterized by a paradox of proliferation and paucity. A vast network of over 1.5 million schools, one of the largest in the world, coexists with chronically under-enrolled, under-resourced, and under-performing institutions, particularly in rural and remote areas. This fragmented system, born of a legitimate drive for access through neighborhood schools, has inadvertently perpetuated inequality. A child in a village school with two teachers managing five grades experiences a fundamentally different education than a peer in a well-staffed urban private institution. This inequity is the central challenge that education reformers are now confronting with a bold, systemic vision: the strategic consolidation and transformation of schools into larger, composite, well-resourced institutions. As articulated by Bikkrama Daulat Singh of The Convergence Foundation, this movement, exemplified by state initiatives like Rajasthan’s Adarsh Schools, Uttar Pradesh’s Model Composite Schools, and Madhya Pradesh’s CM RISE schools, is not merely an administrative reshuffle. It is a philosophic and practical pivot towards creating “real learning environments” at scale, with the ambitious goal of achieving universal, high-quality school education by 2035. This represents one of the most significant, yet under-discussed, revolutions in India’s human capital development strategy.

The Diagnosis: The Tyranny of Smallness and Fragmentation

The roots of the current push for consolidation lie in the hard data of systemic dysfunction. For years, the Right to Education (RTE) Act’s focus on neighborhood schools led to the creation of many small schools, often with fewer than 50 students across multiple grades. While this improved physical access, it created severe pedagogical and resource challenges:

• Multi-Grade Teaching: A single teacher managing students from Classes 1 to 5 in one room is the norm in hundreds of thousands of schools. This makes effective, grade-specific instruction nearly impossible, crippling foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) outcomes.

• Lack of Subject Specialists: Small schools cannot afford or justify dedicated teachers for science, mathematics, English, or arts beyond the primary level. This leads to a stark drop in quality as students transition to upper primary and secondary grades, where subject mastery becomes critical.

• Inadequate Infrastructure: A two-room school cannot house a science lab, a library, a computer room, or proper sanitation facilities. It denies children the basic ecosystem of a holistic education.

• Economic and Administrative Inefficiency: Maintaining tiny schools with separate buildings, electricity, water, and administrative overhead is financially draining for states, diverting scarce resources from improving quality to merely sustaining sub-scale units.

The result is a system that provides access in name but fails on the promise of quality, effectively creating two parallel education streams: one for the urban and affluent, and another for the rural and poor. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) consistently highlights this gap, showing that even after five years in school, a significant proportion of rural children cannot read a Class 2 text or perform basic arithmetic.

The Emerging Solution: The Composite School Movement

Recognizing this, several states have embarked on ambitious journeys of school upgrade and consolidation, moving away from the “small school” model. This is not a blind closure of schools but a thoughtful, phased creation of “school complexes” or composite institutions.

• Rajasthan’s Adarsh Schools: The state has systematically upgraded one school in every Gram Panchayat to a “model” standard, improving infrastructure, ensuring better teacher deployment, and offering full secondary-grade education. This creates a local flagship institution.

• Uttar Pradesh’s Model Composite Schools (Class 1-12): Approved in every district, these schools are envisioned as tech-enabled hubs with smart classrooms and WiFi, aiming to provide a continuous, high-quality pathway from childhood to adolescence.

• Madhya Pradesh’s Consolidation under SATH-E: In a major restructuring, MP consolidated 36,000 under-enrolled schools to create larger campuses with better facilities, improving the teacher-pupil ratio and resource availability. This evolved into the ‘CM RISE’ (now Maharishi Sandipani Schools) initiative, aiming for one well-resourced school for every 25-30 villages.

• Other States: Odisha’s transformation of high schools into “Model Schools,” Jharkhand and Gujarat’s focus on school complexes, and Tamil Nadu’s and Telangana’s investments in integrated infrastructure all point to a clear national trend.

The core philosophy, as Singh emphasizes, is that these schools are “not about efficiency alone.” Their purpose is pedagogical and egalitarian: to create genuine learning environments where every child, regardless of birthplace, has access to one teacher per class, subject specialists, labs, libraries, and the peer-group dynamics of a vibrant campus. It is about replacing the charity of access with the right to quality.

The 2035 Vision: A Two-Pillar Architecture for Universal Quality

Drawing from these state-level experiments, a clear, two-pillar national vision for 2035 emerges:

Pillar 1: One Vibrant K-8 School in Every Gram Panchayat
The proposal is to transition to integrated K-8 schools (combining elementary and middle school) as the default model for basic education. With an optimal size of around 300 students, such a school becomes viable. It can ensure:

• One Teacher Per Class: Eliminating the scourge of multi-grade teaching for core instruction.

• Specialist Introduction: Bringing in teachers for subjects like English, science, and mathematics at the upper primary level.

• Improved Infrastructure: Justifying and supporting investments in digital labs, science corners, libraries, and sports facilities.

• Stronger Governance: A larger school can have a more effective principal and a school management committee (SMC), enabling better oversight and community involvement.
  It is estimated that such a network could collectively serve around 8.1 crore children, forming a robust foundation for the entire education pyramid.

Pillar 2: Widespread, Composite Secondary Schools (Classes 9-12)
The current secondary education system is a critical choke point. With only 87% transition from middle to secondary school and 75% to higher secondary, dropout rates are alarming. Secondary schools are often fragmented, lacking science labs, career guidance, and vocational pathways, reducing education to rote exam preparation.
The 2035 vision is to create large, composite secondary schools that can serve a larger catchment area. Projected to cater to nearly 8 crore students, these schools would have the scale to offer:

• Diverse Academic Streams: Robust Science, Commerce, and Humanities divisions with dedicated, qualified teachers.

• Vocational Education Pathways: Integrated skill training aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, allowing students to mix academic and vocational subjects.

• Holistic Development: Facilities and staff for sports, arts, career counseling, and experiential learning.

• Real-World Application: Moving beyond textbooks to include labs, workshops, and project-based learning.

The Implementation Challenge: Navigating the Levers of Change

The vision is compelling, but its realization hinges on meticulous, state-specific implementation that addresses legitimate concerns. Singh outlines critical levers:

1. Equity and Access: The Transportation Imperative
The foremost objection to consolidation is that it will disadvantage the poorest children, for whom distance is a major barrier. The solution is not to keep substandard schools open, but to guarantee safe and free transportation. States will need tailored models—dedicated buses, vans, bicycles for older students, or transport allowances—to ensure no child is left behind. This is not an added cost but a necessary reallocation of resources from maintaining inefficient small schools to enabling access to excellent ones.

2. Teacher Deployment and Capacity Building
Consolidation enables rational teacher deployment. The goal of “one teacher per class” and subject specialists becomes achievable. However, this requires a massive effort in teacher upskilling and rational transfer policies. Teachers from consolidated schools must be seamlessly integrated into the new composite schools, with training to handle new technologies and pedagogical approaches. This is a profound human resource transformation that must be managed with sensitivity.

3. Decentralized Planning and Community Engagement
A top-down, one-size-fits-all mandate will fail. Success depends on “thoughtful change management.” Each state must create its own roadmap, considering population density, geography, and existing school networks. Crucially, parents, teachers, and local communities must be engaged from the start. They need to see the tangible benefits—better facilities, more teachers, improved learning outcomes—to build trust and ensure a smooth transition. The Gram Panchayat can play a key role in this localized planning and oversight.

4. Sustainable Financing
Upgrading thousands of schools requires significant capital and operational investment. The existing Samagra Shiksha scheme, combined with state budgets and coordinated with other central schemes (like the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan), can be the primary vehicle. The economics, however, are favorable in the long run. While there are upfront costs for construction, buses, and labs, the long-term savings from administrative streamlining and the colossal social return on investment (a better-educated workforce) justify the expenditure. Public-private partnerships and corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds can also be strategically leveraged.

The Potential Impact: Beyond School Walls

If successfully implemented, this systemic transformation could have ripple effects far beyond education:

• Economic Mobility: A generation of rural youth with strong foundational skills and relevant secondary education would be better equipped for higher education or the job market, breaking cycles of poverty.

• Gender Equity: Safe, reliable transport and improved school facilities (like separate toilets) are proven to increase girls’ enrolment and retention, especially at the secondary level.

• Social Cohesion: Large composite schools become community hubs, bringing together children from different hamlets and backgrounds, fostering social integration.

• Rural Development: A high-quality school in a Gram Panchayat can act as an anchor institution, attracting families, boosting local economies, and raising the community’s overall aspirations.

Conclusion: From Quantity to Quality, From Access to Ascendance

The move towards consolidated, composite schools is a courageous acknowledgment that the mission of Indian education has fundamentally shifted. The first battle—ensuring a school is within walking distance—has largely been won. The second, more complex battle—ensuring that every school delivers a learning experience that empowers a child to thrive in the 21st century—is now the priority.

This is not a simplistic call for school closures. It is a sophisticated, equity-focused strategy to rebuild the system from the ground up, using scale as a tool for justice. It promises to replace the isolated, struggling village schoolhouse with a vibrant, well-resourced “learning city” for children, complete with specialized guides (teachers), rich resources (labs and libraries), and pathways to diverse futures.

The state-level experiments provide a proof of concept. The 2035 vision provides the destination. The journey ahead requires political will, meticulous planning, immense resources, and, above all, a steadfast commitment to the principle that every single child in India, whether in a remote hamlet or a bustling city, deserves not just a school, but a great school. The great consolidation is, in essence, India’s audacious plan to democratize excellence in education.

Q&A: Understanding the School Consolidation Vision

Q1: The article argues that small, under-enrolled schools perpetuate inequality. How exactly does a large, composite school create a more equitable learning environment compared to a neighborhood small school?
A1: Equity in education means providing every child with the resources and opportunities needed to succeed, not just the same physical access. A small, under-resourced school creates inequity by default:

• Resource Equity: A composite school can justify and house a science lab, a computer lab, a library, and sports facilities. A one-room school cannot. This gives rural children access to the same tools for learning as urban children.

• Pedagogical Equity: In a small school, one teacher juggles multiple grades, leading to generic, ineffective instruction. A composite school can ensure one teacher per single-grade class, allowing for age-appropriate, focused teaching. It can also employ subject specialists (for math, science, English) in upper grades, which a small school cannot afford, preventing a quality crash after Class 5.

• Social Equity: A larger school offers a diverse peer group, collaborative learning, and exposure to different ideas, mimicking the social environment of a good urban school. A tiny school often has limited peer interaction, especially for older children.
  Thus, consolidation shifts equity from mere geographical proximity (“a school nearby”) to substantive resource and opportunity parity (“a great school accessible to all”).

Q2: A major concern with school consolidation is increased distance for students. How does the proposed model plan to address this critical issue of access, especially for young children and girls?
A2: The model explicitly treats transportation not as an afterthought, but as the essential enabler of equitable consolidation. The solution is a state-funded, reliable transport system that removes distance as a barrier. This would involve:

• Tailored Transport Models: Depending on terrain and density, states could use dedicated school buses, contracted vans/auto-rickshaws, or provide bicycles and travel allowances for older students.

• Safety as Priority: For young children and girls, safety is paramount. Transport would need monitored pick-up/drop-off points, trained drivers, and possibly female attendants. GPS tracking of vehicles can add a layer of security.

• Integrated Planning: The location of new composite schools would be strategically chosen to minimize average travel distance within a cluster, supported by the new transport network.
  The argument is that investing in transport is a more effective use of funds than spending on maintaining dozens of non-viable, poor-quality small schools. It transforms access from “walking to a low-quality school” to “riding to a high-quality school.”

Q3: What happens to the teachers from the smaller schools that are consolidated? How can their skills be leveraged, and what challenges does this human resource integration pose?
A3: Teachers are the most valuable asset in this transition. Their integration is critical:

• Rational Deployment: Teachers from consolidated schools would be deployed in the new composite school based on their qualifications and the school’s needs. This helps achieve the goal of one teacher per class and brings in subject expertise.

• Upskilling and Role Clarification: Many primary teachers in small schools are generalists. They may need training to teach a single grade effectively or to use new technology (smart classrooms). Specialist teachers might need training in new pedagogies. Clear, respectful communication about new roles is vital.

• Challenge – Resistance and Morale: The main challenge is overcoming resistance to change—leaving a familiar, autonomous (if difficult) environment for a larger, more structured one. There may be concerns about seniority, transfers, or new performance metrics. “Thoughtful change management,” involving teachers in the planning process and demonstrating how the new environment benefits them (e.g., reduced multi-grade burden, better facilities, peer support) is essential to build buy-in and protect morale.

Q4: The 2035 vision proposes composite secondary schools with “multiple academic and vocational pathways.” How would this work in practice, and how does it align with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020?
A4: In practice, a composite secondary school would look less like a traditional, exam-focused school and more like a multidisciplinary campus:

• Curriculum Structure: Alongside standard Science, Commerce, and Humanities streams, the school would offer vocational subjects (e.g., coding, agriculture, healthcare, retail) as elective “modules” or full-fledged courses. The NEP 2020’s emphasis on “no hard separation” between academic and vocational streams would be realized here.

• Infrastructure: The school would have not just science labs, but also workshops, kitchens, computer labs, or agricultural plots for hands-on vocational training.

• Staffing and Partnerships: It would employ or partner with vocational trainers and have career counselors to guide students in blending subjects and choosing post-school pathways—higher education, skilled employment, or entrepreneurship.
  This directly aligns with NEP 2020’s goals of holistic education, reducing hierarchies between knowledge and skills, and preparing students for the 21st-century economy. The scale of a composite school makes offering such a diverse curriculum financially and logistically feasible.

Q5: Funding such a massive nationwide upgrade is a colossal task. Beyond government budgets, what innovative financing or implementation models could states explore to make this vision a reality?
A5: While government funding via Samagra Shiksha is primary, states can leverage innovative models:

• Public-Private Partnerships (PPP): For specific components like school transportation, ICT infrastructure, or vocational labs. A private partner could finance, build, and maintain buses or tech labs for a period, with the government paying a service fee.

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Philanthropy: Strategic partnerships with corporations and foundations could “adopt” the upgrade of specific schools or fund particular elements like libraries, STEM labs, or teacher training programs.

• Blended Finance and Development Bonds: States could issue “Education Infrastructure Bonds” to raise low-cost capital from the market for upfront construction costs, to be repaid over time from future budgetary allocations.

• Community Contribution and Mobilization: While not replacing state responsibility, involving local communities in monitoring construction, maintaining gardens, or contributing in-kind labor can foster ownership and reduce costs.

• Efficiency Gains: A significant portion of funding can be reallocated from the inefficient expenditure of running thousands of sub-scale schools (separate electricity, maintenance, administrative overhead) towards the capital and operational costs of the new, consolidated system. The business case rests on this long-term efficiency.