School Dropout Rate Falls, Teacher Strength Crosses 1 Crore – Explained

School Dropout Rate Latest News

• The Union Ministry of Education has released two key reports on school education, the UDISE+ 2025-26 report and the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 for 2025-26, showing a decline in dropout rates, improved teacher strength, and continued challenges in learning retention.

About UDISE+ and PGI

• The Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) is the government of India’s official digital database for the education sector. 
• Maintained by the Ministry of Education, it collates real-time statistics on:
  • School infrastructure
  • Student enrolment
  • Teacher metrics
  • Facilities and amenities
  • Learning environment
• The database is populated through voluntary uploading of data by schools with active UDISE+ codes.
• The Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 assesses states and Union Territories across six domains:
  • Learning Outcomes
  • Access
  • Infrastructure and Facilities
  • Equity
  • Governance Process
  • Teacher Education and Training
• The PGI uses a 10-tier ranking system to grade states based on their performance in these domains.

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Key Findings from UDISE+ 2025-26

• Decline in Dropout Rates
  • The academic year 2025-26 witnessed a notable reduction in dropout rates across preparatory and secondary levels compared to previous years:
  • Preparatory level: Dropout rate declined from 2.3% in 2024-25 to 1.8% in 2025-26.
  • Secondary level: Dropout rate declined from 8.2% in 2024-25 to 7.0% in 2025-26.
  • However, the highest dropout rates at the secondary level were recorded in Ladakh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and Karnataka.
  • The report attributes the improvement to:
    • An increased number of schools offering secondary education
    • Enhanced accessibility
    • Targeted interventions
    • More supportive and responsive school environments
• Improvement in Student Retention
• • Student retention has shown a positive trend at higher levels:
  • Middle level: Retention increased from 82.8% (2024-25) to 83.7% (2025-26).
  • Secondary level: Retention increased significantly from 47.2% (2024-25) to 51.9% (2025-26).
  • However, a marginal decline was observed at the foundational and preparatory levels in 2025-26, following three consecutive years of improvement.
• Concerning Retention Reality
  • Despite improvements, only about half of Class I students make it to Class XII, highlighting the persistent challenge of student attrition at higher levels of schooling.
• Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER)
  • The GER at the secondary level improved considerably:
  • From 68.5% in 2024-25 to 71.7% in 2025-26.
  • This reflects greater accessibility and continued enrolment at higher levels.
• Teacher Strength Crosses One Crore
  • For the first time in any academic year, the total number of school teachers crossed 1.02 crore during 2025-26, an increase of 8.3% compared to 2022-23.
  • Women continue to account for the majority of the workforce at 54.9%.
  • Rising teacher numbers are seen as critical for improving student-teacher ratios and ensuring quality education.
• Pupil-Teacher Ratios (PTR)
  • PTRs have continued to improve, comfortably surpassing the NEP target of 30:1:
  • Foundational stage: 10
  • Preparatory: 12
  • Middle: 17
  • Secondary: 21
• School Rationalisation
  • Zero-enrolment schools fell by 29% to 5,663.
  • Single-teacher schools declined by 3% to 100,843.
• Girls’ Enrolment
  • Girls accounted for 48.4% of total enrolment in 2025-26, marginally up from 48.3% in the previous year.
• Digital Access and Infrastructure
  • Significant improvements were reported in digital access:
  • Computer access in schools increased from 64.7% to 69.9%.
  • Internet connectivity improved from 63.5% to 67.4%.
  • Basic amenities showed near-universal availability:
  • Safe drinking water: 99.5%
  • Girls’ toilets: 98.5%
  • Boys’ toilets: 97.2%
  • Grid electricity: 95%
  • However, playground availability declined from 83% to 81.9%.
• Inclusion
  • Schools with disability-accessible ramps and handrails increased from 54.9% to 58.2%.
• Enrolment Composition
  • Minority communities account for over 20% of total enrolment.
  • Among minority students: Muslims 79.4%, Christians 10.1%, Sikhs 7.1%, Buddhists 2.0%, Jains 1.3%, Parsis 0.1%.
  • Social category breakdown: OBC 44.9%, General 27.5%, SC 17.7%, ST 10%.

Performance Grading Index 2.0 Findings

• State-Wise Performance
  • The PGI 2025-26 revealed that no state or Union Territory achieved any of the top three grades (71%-100%) in the 10-tier ranking system.
• Top Performers
  • Chandigarh: The only UT to reach the fourth-highest grade, ‘Uttam-3’.
  • ‘Prachesta-1’ category (51%-60%): Delhi, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Kerala, and Punjab.
• Middle Performers
  • ‘Prachesta-2’ category (41%-50%): Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Lakshadweep.
  • ‘Prachesta-3’ (31%-40%) and ‘Akanshi-1’ (21%-30%): Most states fall in these categories, with 13 states in each grade.
• Aspirational Category
  • The ‘Akanshi’ category (lower end of rankings) includes:
  • Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir
  • Northeastern states: Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya
• Domain-Wise Leaders
  • Learning Outcomes: Punjab tops, followed by Kerala.
  • Access: Kerala leads along with Puducherry.
  • Teacher Education & Training: Kerala and Lakshadweep share the top position.
  • Equity: Tamil Nadu leads.
• Decliners
  • States showing a decline in PGI scores compared with 2024-25:
  • Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Odisha, and Uttarakhand
• Inter-State Gaps
  • Highest score: Chandigarh at 766.0
  • Lowest score: Meghalaya at 525.7
  • Gap: 31.4% between the top and bottom performers
  • Encouragingly, the gap has narrowed from 51% in 2017-18, indicating some progress in reducing inter-state disparities in school education quality.

Significance and Concerns

• Positive Trends
  • Falling dropout rates signal improved retention and school responsiveness.
  • Rising teacher strength and improving PTR indicate better educational conditions.
  • Digital access improvements reflect the growing integration of technology in schools.
  • Near-universal basic amenities show progress in school infrastructure.
• Persisting Challenges
  • Only half of Class I students reach Class XII, reflecting continued attrition at higher levels.
  • No state has achieved the top three PGI grades, indicating significant room for improvement.
  • Marginal decline in retention at foundational and preparatory levels needs attention.
  • Wide inter-state disparities in performance, especially in aspirational states.
  • Aspirational category states, particularly in the northeast and Hindi-belt, require focused intervention.
• Structural Concerns
  • Playground availability declining raises concerns about physical education.
  • Learning outcomes remain a challenge, especially in aspirational states.
  • Gender parity improvements remain marginal.
  • Regional disparities in teacher availability and school infrastructure persist.

Source: ET | Print