Meghalaya has 14,582 schools — the most in the country — and 55,160 teachers. The state ranked dead last in India's education index, with 206 schools enrolling precisely zero children. The infrastructure is fully operational. The learning is optional.
The Union Education Ministry's Performance Grading Index 2.0, released in May 2026, placed Meghalaya last among all 36 states and UTs with a score of 448 out of 1,000 — the only state in the lowest Akanshi-3 category. Meghalaya holds the distinction of having the highest number of schools in India (14,582) and among the most teachers (55,160), yet 206 of those schools have zero students enrolled and another 2,269 have fewer than ten. Approximately 22,000 children drop out every year; only 47.8% of Class 10 students proceed to Class 11. NITI Aayog separately confirmed Meghalaya has India's highest school dropout rate. The state has spent years constructing, staffing, and maintaining school buildings in which education does not reliably occur. As an infrastructure project, it is meticulous. As an education system, it is not.