Recently, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the results of the Comprehensive Modular Survey: Education (CMS:E), April–June 2025, under the National Sample Survey.
Key Findings of CMS: Education Survey 2025
- Dominant Enrolment in Government Schools: Government schools continue to be the backbone of education in India, accounting for 55.9% of total enrolments, with a higher share in rural areas (66.0%) compared to urban areas (30.1%).
- Private unaided (recognized) schools account for 31.9% enrolment nationwide.
- Very Few Students Pay Course Fees in Government Schools: Only 26.7% of students in government schools reported paying course fees, while the figure rises to 95.7% in non-government schools. In urban private unaided schools, 98% of students reported fee payments.
- Lower Per-Student Expenditure in Government Schools: Average household expenditure per student in government schools was ₹2,863, compared to a significantly higher ₹25,002 in non-government schools, highlighting affordability gaps.
- Course Fees as the Largest Education Expense: Across all schools, course fees emerged as the largest expense (₹7,111), followed by textbooks and stationery (₹2,002). Urban households spent more across all categories, with average course fees of ₹15,143 in urban areas against ₹3,979 in rural areas.
- Growing Prevalence of Private Coaching: Nearly 27.0% of students availed private coaching in the current academic year, with urban students (30.7%) outnumbering rural students (25.5%). Expenditure also rose with education level.
- Family Funding as the Major Source of Education Finance: Households remain the primary source of school education funding, with 95% of students reporting household members as the main source.
- Only 1.2% of students reported government scholarships as their first source of funding.
About Comprehensive Modular Survey (CMS: Education)
- The Comprehensive Modular Survey: Education (CMS:E) is part of the 80th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS), designed to capture detailed household-level expenditure on education.
About National Sample Survey
- NSS is India’s largest socio-economic survey system, initiated in 1950, to generate reliable data for planning and policy formulation.
- Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
- Role: It plays a vital role in producing nationally representative data on employment, consumption, health, education, and social indicators.
- The survey outcomes serve as key inputs for government schemes, poverty estimates, and GDP calculation.
- Organisational Division: NSS comprises four divisions
- Survey Design and Research Division (SDRD),
- Field Operations Division (FOD),
- Data Processing Division (DPD), and
- Survey Coordination Division (SCD).
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- Conducted By: National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) under MoSPI, using Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI) for data collection.
- Scope and Coverage
- The survey collected data from 52,085 households and 57,742 students across India, covering expenditure patterns for school education and private coaching.
- The CMS:E differs from the earlier 75th round (2017–18) as it classifies anganwadi centres as pre-primary education and separates private coaching expenditure.
- Survey-based totals are used only for calculating rates and ratios, not for absolute population counts, avoiding misleading extrapolations.
Conclusion
The CMS: Education Survey 2025 provides valuable insights into the cost of education in India, rural-urban disparities, reliance on private coaching, and limited reach of government scholarships. It strengthens data-driven policymaking for education reforms and welfare measures.
27 Aug 2025
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