Prof. DM Deshpande
Not only higher education even the school education in India, is in disarray. In a recently released report, UDISE+Unified District Information System for Education Plus, there are some distressing trends. UDISE+ is an educational management system under the government of India’s Department of School Education and Literacy. Its annual report is a rich data source for educational planners and policy framers.
The report is a pointer to steady expansion of school education in the country giving better access to children across the spectrum, better infrastructure, increase in the number of teachers and reduced dropout rate. There are 14.67 lakh schools having 24.72 registered students. For the first time, the number of teachers on roll has exceeded one crore (1.03 crore) leading to an improvement in pupil-to-teacher ratio from 25:1 to 24:1 in one year.
It is heartening to note that almost all eligible children in the relevant cohort go to school. Still better is the development that none of the major social groups is left behind in terms of gross enrollment. This goal had remained elusive for decades despite policy thrusts, enhanced incentives and creation of awareness.
Enrollment of girls at the national level, which had proved to be tough nut to crack, is 48.4% and the minorities together account for more than 20%. Within minorities, Muslims now account for 16.2% followed by Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains. Nearly half of the GER are by OBC’s (Other Backward Class)-44.9%, 17.7% from scheduled castes and 10% from scheduled tribes. The pupil-to-teacher ratio at all levels-foundational preparatory middle and secondary- is better than the NEP threshold of 30:1.
However, beyond these macro numbers there are certain data sets that are a cause for concern. Although 98.5% of the cohort entering the foundational level are expected to complete the stage, only 51.9% are likely to remain through the Class XII. This is a continuing challenge-one of ensuring that children complete secondary education.
Even the states with better performance record struggle to keep the students drop out rate at and/or after Xth. Class. The fallout is a skills deficit, lack of motivation for pursuing education further and a huge problem of finding jobs for this large cohort. Due to this structural weakness, the human capital formation is impacted. It also has a bearing on the GER in higher education which starts from a low base relative to the large number of students entering the elementary level of education. Gains in PTR have not translated into better learning outcomes, improved pedagogy or updated curriculum.
A lacuna in our education system is the extent of privatization with all its attendant issues. The commercialization and commoditization of education has created a class divide; quality education is increasingly becoming the privy of only the rich in India. Free and fair school education is a critical prerequisite for the realization of the demographic dividend dream.
Government schools have generally earned a bad name, though some of it may be due to perception. As a result, in the last two academic years alone, they have lost 86 lakh students. The report points out that during the same period, private schools have added 88 lakh students-loss by government schools is the gain by their private counterparts!
Enrollment in government schools stood at 11.89 crore in the year 2025-26 while the private unaided institutions stole a march closer to them with a strength of 9.89 Crores. Soon half the school education in India will be in private hands. This trend raises serious concerns of equity and affordability, upholding educational standards including teachers qualifications and periodical teachers’ training.
The report highlights other key school indicators. The number of zero enrollment schools dropped from 12,594 to 5,663. Indeed a big drop but the question that begs an answer is why continue to have such schools, in thousands, not a handful! This is akin to allowing resources going down the drain in a country that does not boast of abundant resources.
Another feature (unwanted) of Indian school education is the existence of schools with a single teacher. Now that too has dropped from 1.11 lakhs to 1.01 lakhs. Obviously, productivity takes a beating reflecting on poor students’ performance.
A key finding of the report is that supply side variables have not responded to changes in demand. With the implementation of the right to education act, demand for schools has shot up across India. While more preparatory and foundational level schools have been opened to meet the surging needs, a commensurate number of secondary schools have not been set up. This has ‘posed a risk of large scale drop outs at higher classes’ concedes the report.
There has been significant improvement in availability of infrastructure facilities-separate toilets for boys and girls, hand wash facility, drinking water, electricity and playgrounds. But in none of them, we have been able to achieve 100% results; 5% of the schools do not have electricity, 19% do not possess proper playgrounds, 30% do not have computing facilities and nearly 33% do not have internet in school campuses. The report highlights how several schools-41.8% of the total-lack disabled-firendly facilities such as handrails and ramps.
While the all India macro numbers look good, it is the distribution that is highly fragmented, distorted and worrisome. In computing facilities for instance, states such as Bihar, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh lag behind the rest by a wide margin. States such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra perform well across indicators such as retention, infrastructure, educational participation and transition rates.
However, in sharp contrast, states such as Bihar, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and UP continue to record below national average indicators on several vital parameters. Goa is well above national average on most basic infrastructure and facilities but is restricted by smaller schools and lack of digital access in government schools.
The author has four decades of experience in higher education teaching and research. He is the former first vice-chancellor of ISBM University, Chhattisgarh
