: The Union ministry of education’s program approval board (PAB) has actually flagged a considerable decrease in both school enrolment and mid-day meal protection under the PM POSHAN plan in Chandigarh, with overall enrolment dropping over 5,000 trainees and typical day-to-day protection diminishing by 8% in 2025-26.
< source media ="(min-width:768px)" alt ="Chandigarh administration told to ascertain the reasons for the drop in enrolment and average coverage. (HT File)" > < img src ="https://www.hindustantimes.com/ht-img/img/2026/05/28/400x225/Chandigarh-administration-told-to-ascertain-the-re_1779998725372.jpg"alt ="Chandigarh administration told to ascertain the reasons for the drop in enrolment and average coverage. (HT File)"title ="Chandigarh administration told to ascertain the reasons for the drop in enrolment and average coverage. (HT File)"width ="360"height ="202"loading ="eager">According to the PAB minutes for the yearly work strategy & budget plan 2026-27, satisfying hung on May 16, headed by Sanjay Kumar, secretary, department of school education & literacy, overall enrolment throughout Chandigarh’s 116 federal government schools fell from 99,872 in 2024-25 to 94,740– a decrease of 5,132 trainees. The drop in typical protection was steeper, falling from 62,669 to 57,659 recipients– a decrease of 8%.
The sharpest decrease was at the Bal Vatika (pre-primary) level, where enrolment visited 8% and protection fell by 9%. Main enrolment fell by 6% with protection decreasing by 7%. Upper main enrolment dipped by 3%, while its protection fell by 9%, from 25,990 to 23,676 trainees.
The PAB asked the UT administration to determine the factors for the drop in enrolment and typical protection and to take restorative procedures. On other efficiency signs, PAB discovered the UT’s efficiency acceptable. All 116 schools have practical LPG connections, nutrition gardens, and are reporting on automated tracking system.
Health examinations covered 99% of registered trainees (93,881), and IFA supplements and deworming tablets reached all 94,740 trainees. ‘Tithi Bhojan’– community-contributed meals were offered to 1,50,416 trainees, attaining 100% target.
The PAB flagged that while the UT accomplished 100% group Aadhaar authentication, it is yet to finish biometric Aadhaar authentication. The board recommended the UT to carry out biometric authentication for all trainees in a time-bound way and make sure trainee information is upgraded month-to-month on the MIS website.
Director of school education Nitish Singla stayed not available for remark, nevertheless, federal government school instructors associated the decrease to a more extensive admissions procedure over the last few years. They indicated more stringent eligibility requirements, with Aadhaar card confirmation efficiently narrowing the swimming pool of trainees acquiring entry into federal government schools.