Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, launched a sharp attack on the BJP governments over what he described as a deepening education crisis, citing data on mass school dropouts, vacant teaching posts, and shrinking enrolment — setting a political tone three days before Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's scheduled visit to Indore on 19 September for the party's 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' programme on student and youth issues.

Key Figures Cited

Addressing a press conference in Bhopal, Patwari drew on data reportedly sourced from AISHE, UDISE+, the Economic Survey, and NITI Aayog to argue that the country's demographic dividend was at risk. According to the figures he presented, more than 10 crore youths remain outside higher education, around 12 crore children are not completing school education, and nearly 8.7 crore youth fall into the 'not in education, employment or training' (NEET) category.

He further claimed that only 47.2 per cent of children who enrol in Class 1 eventually reach Class 12 — a retention rate that critics argue reflects systemic failure across multiple governments. Nationally, the number of government schools reportedly declined by around 1.02 lakh between 2014-15 and 2025-26, according to the data Patwari cited.

Madhya Pradesh's Education Gap

Within Madhya Pradesh, the figures presented painted a particularly stark picture. The state accounted for a net reduction of around 30,650 government schools over the same period, while 69,667 teacher posts remain vacant. Patwari also flagged 2,269 single-teacher schools in the state, serving approximately 2.29 lakh enrolled children. Nationally, 1,00,843 such single-teacher schools were reported.

On higher education, Patwari noted that the Gross Enrolment Ratio stands at around 30 per cent, leaving an estimated 10.5 crore youth outside its reach. In Madhya Pradesh's 17 government universities, 1,585 of 1,949 sanctioned faculty posts were stated to be vacant — a vacancy rate of over 81 per cent.

What Congress Is Demanding

'India's young population can become the country's biggest strength, but for this, every child must get a school, every youth must get higher education and skills, and young people must get employment opportunities,' Patwari said. The party demanded a white paper on the state of education, immediate filling of vacant teaching posts, and a time-bound roadmap linking education to employment outcomes.

Patwari also urged the government to explain its strategy for utilising the demographic dividend before the window narrows further: 'When the window for benefiting from the demographic dividend is becoming increasingly limited, the government must explain its time-bound strategy to secure this opportunity through education, skills and employment.'

Political Context: Rahul Gandhi's Indore Visit

The press conference comes as a deliberate curtain-raiser to Rahul Gandhi's visit to Indore on 19 September for 'Chhatron Ki Goonj,' a Congress outreach programme centred on students and youth. Notably, Madhya Pradesh — currently governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — has been a key political battleground, and the Congress's focus on education data signals an attempt to reframe youth discontent as a policy accountability issue ahead of the event. The BJP is yet to formally respond to the specific figures cited by Patwari.