Over 72,000 Indian children receiving home schooling: Education Ministry

NEW DELHI: More than 72,000 students are getting a home-based education in India for the year 2023-24, the education ministry said on Monday in reply to a question in parliament.

Out of the 72,186 students receiving home-based education, Tamil Nadu has the highest number of students with 11,400 followed by Uttar Pradesh with 10,935 students receiving home schooling.

Kerala (6,733), Maharashtra (6,247) and Andhra Pradesh (5,878) also have more than 5,000 students receiving home-based education.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan and Karnataka are the only states with no single student receiving home-based education.

Home-based education is a component under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, the country’s largest school scheme, for children with special needs (CwSN). The Government of India has allocated Rs 2,067.93 lakh for home-based education during 2023-24.

“Under Samagra Shiksha, there is a dedicated component for inclusive education for CwSN through which various provisions are made available for the educational needs of CwSN such as, provision of aids, appliances, assistive devices and teaching learning materials, etc. under the scheme. This includes home based education for children with multiple or severe disabilities who are unable to attend school. For the year 2023-24, support for 72,186 CwSN, who are enrolled in the home-based education programme has been approved, with an estimated outlay of Rs 2,067.93 lakh,” the ministry said.