Syllabus:

GS2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. 

Context: 

Recently, the Ministry of Education released a detailed report on Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2024-25 on school education in India.

Key Findings of the Report 

• Increased Number of Teachers: In 2024–25, the number of teachers crossed 1 crore for the first time under UDISE+, marking a 6.7% rise compared to 2022–23.
• Improved Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR): The PTR now stands at 10 at the Foundational, 13 at the Preparatory, 17 at the Middle, and 21 at the Secondary level—well below the NEP’s recommended 30:1 ratio.
• Reduced Dropout Rates: Dropout rates fell from 3.7% to 2.3% at the Preparatory stage, 5.2% to 3.5% at the Middle stage, and 10.9% to 8.2% at the Secondary stage.
• Improved Student Retention Rate: Retention rates improved in 2024–25, rising from 98.0% to 98.9% at the Foundational level, 85.4% to 92.4% at the Preparatory level, 78.0% to 82.8% at the Middle level, and 45.6% to 47.2% at the Secondary level.
• Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER): The GER rose from 89.5% to 90.3% at the Middle level and from 66.5% to 68.5% at the Secondary level.
• Improved Transition Rate: Foundational to Preparatory rose from 98.1% to 98.6%, Preparatory to Middle from 88.8% to 92.2%, and Middle to Secondary from 83.3% to 86.6%.
• Reduced Zero Enrolment and Single Teacher Schools: Government efforts have reduced single-teacher schools by 6% and zero-enrolment schools by 38%, improving teacher allocation and pupil–teacher ratio. 

Improved Infrastructure: 

• Increase in Schools with Computer and Internet Access: In 2024–25, the share of schools with computer access increased from 57.2% to 64.7%, and those with internet connectivity rose from 53.9% to 63.5%.
• Improved Female Representation: In 2024–25, female teachers make up 54.2% of the workforce, and girls’ enrolment rose to 48.3%, up from 48.1% last year.

Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+)

• UDISE+ is an educational management information system under the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, under the Government of India. 
• UDISE+ is a central platform where all recognised schools record and submit real-time data on infrastructure, students, and teachers annually, from pre-primary to higher secondary levels.
• UDISE+ is one of the largest management information systems for credible information collection mechanisms and serves as the official statistics of the Ministry of Education
• The Ministry of Education released the first detailed UDISE+ report for the 2021-22 academic year in 2022.

Sources:

https://udiseplus.gov.in/#/en/home https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2161543 https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/number-of-school-teachers-crossed-1-crore-for-first-time-in-2024-25-education-ministry-report/article69984643.ece