Nearly one lakh schools shut after NEP 2020 rollout: Manik Sarkar
Former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar claimed that nearly one lakh public schools have closed since the implementation of NEP 2020. He criticized the shift toward private education and the lack of government investment in public health and schooling.
Why it matters
The statement highlights the ongoing national debate regarding the privatization of essential public services in India.
Ever since the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 was implemented, nearly one lakh public schools have closed down across the country, former Chief Minister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar, said on Saturday (August 29, 2026).
In his acceptance speech after receiving the Era. Sezhiyan Award conferred by the Navalar-Sezhiyan Trust at the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) in Chennai, Mr. Sarkar said that while public schools were shutting down, private ones were mushrooming, leaving students from the lower economic strata with no scope to pursue education. Similarly, in the health sector too, private capital has been expanding while public investment has been shrinking.
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