Now Reading: UDISE+ 2025-26 report shows progress, persistent disparities
-
01
UDISE+ 2025-26 report shows progress, persistent disparities
The Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2025-26 report, covering 1.47 million schools, 240 million students and 10.2 million teachers, shows national progress in enrolment, retention and infrastructure but also reveals stark regional and social disparities.
Andhra Pradesh leads in Aadhaar seeding of students at 99.6%, while Meghalaya has the lowest at 35%. Meghalaya also records the highest foundational and preparatory gross enrolment ratios but Bihar has the lowest across stages. Bihar has the highest preparatory dropout rate at 7.9% and middle-level dropout at 9%, while Ladakh records the highest secondary dropout rate at 14.8%.
Pupil-teacher ratios vary widely, with Jharkhand having the highest secondary PTR at 43 and Sikkim the lowest at 6. The report notes that General category students are concentrated in Chandigarh and Delhi, while ST enrolment is highest in Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Ladakh. OBCs have the highest national GER at 49%.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The UDISE+ data underscores that India's school education progress remains uneven despite near-universal physical access. The wide variation in PTR and GER across states shows that infrastructure and teacher deployment have not kept pace with enrolment gains. Bihar's persistently low GER and high dropout rates point to deeper socioeconomic barriers that require targeted interventions beyond school construction. The next challenge for policymakers is to link UDISE+ data with learning outcome surveys to ensure quality matches quantity, with the NEP 2020 implementation milestones offering a timeline for corrective action.
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Methodology and corrections.
