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In July and August 2026, at least 10 states and 25 districts have reported protests by school students on issues ranging from teacher shortages and poor classrooms to drinking water, food, electricity and safe access to schools.
The school education system has improved on several access and infrastructure indicators, according to the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2025-26 report, released by the Union Ministry of Education on August 17, 2026.
But the recent protests point to a gap between the rights promised to children on paper and the conditions many of them continue to experience in schools. These rights are recognised under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as well as India’s Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act).
The protests followed the nationwide Gen Z protests over alleged NEET-UG irregularities and paper leaks, including demonstrations at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in July 2026.
The success of this protest with the resignation of the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan may have encouraged the younger school students to raise their own concerns about basic facilities lacking in their schools. Born after 2010, most of them belong to Generation Alpha.
On July 28, for instance, hundreds of students from classes 6 to 12 at Sarvodaya Inter College in Kishanpur, Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, staged a protest after months of complaints about basic facilities. They raised concerns about irregular electricity, a lack of fans, broken desks, unhygienic drinking water and poor toilet facilities. Similar protests have since been reported from at least five other districts in Uttar Pradesh, including Lucknow.
Protests over similar issues have also been reported from nine other states, including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Punjab.
The protests gain significance against the latest UDISE+ data, which reveals gaps in school facilities and differences between northern and southern states.
For instance, the national average for schools with electricity stands at 93.5 per cent, while Uttar Pradesh (88.8 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (90.7 per cent) and Rajasthan (91.5 per cent) remain below the national average. In contrast, Tamil Nadu reports 100 per cent electrification, followed by Kerala (99.8 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (99.7 per cent) and Telangana (99.4 per cent).
A similar pattern is visible in data on access to functional and hygienic toilets. While the national average is 95.8 per cent, Rajasthan reports 86.8 per cent and Madhya Pradesh 92.3 per cent. Southern states again perform better, with Kerala and Tamil Nadu at 99.6 per cent and Andhra Pradesh at 98.5 per cent.
Across different states, the demands by students are similar. These include demands for more teachers, better food and classrooms, safe buildings, water, toilets, electricity, roads, transport, and opposition to mergers and transfers.
On July 28, 2026, around 50 students from Classes 6-8 of Simuara Middle School in Bihar’s Gaya district protested by marching nearly 4 km to the Tikari SDM office over poor mid-day meals, drinking water, toilets, electricity, fans, uniforms and teaching standards
Students in Dahanu at Palghar district in Maharashtra too protested in July 2026 and demanded better school infrastructure, safe surroundings, and basic amenities.
These instances reflect poor implementation of the RTE Act, which includes a schedule about school infrastructure. Its schedule requires an all-weather building, separate toilets for boys and girls, safe and adequate drinking water, classrooms and teaching-learning equipment, among other facilities.
Hundreds of Class 5-10 students at Vaidyanath Vidyalaya in Parli, Beed boycotted classes on July 31 over the continued absence of about 16 teachers and staff transfers without replacements, leaving key subjects without teachers.
The same day, Class 10 students in Dharashiv district of Maharashtra began an indefinite sit-in demanding mathematics and science teachers after a four-year shortage, warning that it could affect their board examinations.
Teacher shortages were also reported in Jalore, Rajasthan, where students of Mengalwa PM SHRI School protested on July 17, 2026, after reports that one teacher was handling around 150 students. Protests for similar reasons were reported from Chhattisgarh and Punjab too.
These demands have a clear legal connection. The RTE Act’s Schedule prescribes, among other things, at least one teacher for every 35 children in Classes 6-8, as well as teachers for science and mathematics, social studies and languages. Sections 25 and 26 of the act, deal with pupil-teacher ratios and filling teacher vacancies. The connection is particularly direct for children aged 6-14, who fall within the RTE Act’s core age group.
The UDISE+ report also showed that over 100,000 single-teacher schools in the country.
Poor food, water shortages and inadequate hostel facilities have also triggered protests. Students in residential schools in Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh raised concerns over poor-quality or expired food, lack of electricity and water, poor sanitation and inadequate hostel facilities, along with teacher shortages and disrupted classes.
On August 18, girls protested over hostel facilities and food at Mata Shabari Kanya Shiksha Parisar, Dhar. Similar protests over food, electricity, water supply, cleanliness and teacher shortages occurred at Eklavya School, Khatima, Uttarakhand and schools in Amethi and Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
The Global Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) connects these concerns directly to children’s health, development and education. Article 24 recognises children’s right to health, including measures related to nutritious food and clean drinking water, while Articles 28 and 29 address education and its purpose.
The RTE Act requires schools to meet prescribed norms and standards, including those relating to buildings and classrooms. In Jodhawas, Alwar, 174 students protested on August 13 after part of their school roof collapsed.
The Act goes beyond the need for a school building. Article 28 of the CRC recognises education based on equal opportunity, while India’s RTE Act requires neighbourhood schools. For children aged 6-14, meaningful access also requires safe, affordable and barrier-free travel.
But the recent protests reveal the gap between such legal provisions and the reality-on-ground. In Madhya Pradesh, students in Sironj, Vidisha district, protested against higher bus fares, while girls in Ujjain opposed the proposed shifting and merger of their schools to a location 6-10 km away. In Hamirpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Dhamtari (Chhattisgarh), students raised concerns over badly damaged roads that make reaching school difficult, particularly during the monsoon.
Following the protests by school students, the Cockroach Janata Party launched its “School Thik Karo” campaign on August 15 from Hingoli, Maharashtra. The nationwide social-audit campaign launched by CJP, seeks to document deficiencies in rural government schools and push for better infrastructure, basic facilities and accountability.
While the legal framework already recognises many of the things children are asking for, these protests by the young school students point towards the problem at the level of implementation.
Article 12 of the CRC recognises the right of children capable of forming their own views to express those views freely in matters affecting them, with appropriate weight given to their opinions. This specific article under the CRC matters when students protest teacher transfers, school mergers, poor food, infrastructure or transport, to ensure the age of the protesting school students is not cited as a reason to dismiss their concerns.
