At Rs 49,711 a year, Chandigarh most expensive for schooling

Households incurred an average expenditure of ₹2,863 per student on education in government schools in the current academic year compared to a much higher ₹25,002 in non-government schools. Overall, it was ₹12,616, according to a survey released by the statistics ministry on Tuesday.

Across states and Union territories, Chandigarh recorded the highest per student expenditure on school education at ₹49,711, followed by Haryana (₹25,720), Manipur (₹23,502), Punjab (₹22,692) and Tamil Nadu (₹21,526).

In rural areas, households spent an average ₹2,639 per student in government schools and ₹19,554 in non-government schools.

In urban areas, the same was estimated at ₹4,128 for government schools and ₹31,782 for non-government schools, according to the Comprehensive Modular Survey: Education conducted between April and June.

Across all schools, the highest expenditure per student was on course fees at ₹7,111. Next was textbooks and stationery at ₹2,002, followed by transportation (₹1,842) and uniform (₹1,070).

"Only 26.7% of students enrolled in government schools reported paying course fees, in contrast to 95.7% of students in non-government schools," the survey said.

In terms of enrolments, government schools accounted for 55.9% of total, followed by private unaided (recognised) at 31.9%, private aided at 11.3% and others at 0.8%.

The survey covered 52,085 households and 221,617 individuals, collecting education-related data for 57,742 students currently enrolled.

It was also found that 27% of students had taken or were taking private coaching in the current academic year, with participation higher in urban areas at 30.7% than 25.5% in rural areas.