India’s school education in Data UDISE+ 2024-25 Arun C Mehta March 2026.
e-Book on India’s School Education in Data: An Analysis of UDISE+ 2024–25
About this volume
This page presents e-Book on India’s School Education in Data – An Analysis of UDISE+ 2024–25, authored by Prof. Arun C. Mehta and published on Education for All in India in 2026. The volume synthesises a series of analytical articles written between August 2025 and March 2026 following the release of the UDISE+ 2024–25 dataset by the Ministry of Education.
Drawing on data for 14.71 lakh schools, 24.69 crore students, and 1.01 crore teachers, the book provides a comprehensive, all-India picture of school education, with a focus on trends since 2017–18 and progress towards the NEP 2020 goals. All indicators are taken from official UDISE+ 2024–25 reports, with learning outcomes cross‑checked against ASER 2024 where relevant.
Download the full PDF
You can download the complete 35‑page PDF using the link below:
- Download PDF: India’s School Education in Data – An Analysis of UDISE+ 2024–25 by Arun C Mehta (PDF, about 3.3 MB)
Key questions addressed
The volume is designed for policymakers, researchers, administrators, and practitioners who need a data‑driven view of India’s school education system. Among others, it addresses questions such as:
Key Questions Addressed
- How has total school enrolment changed since 2017–18, and why did it fall to 23.29 crore in 2024–25, the lowest in seven years?
- What do Gross and Net Enrolment Ratios reveal about the distance to universal elementary and secondary education under NEP 2020?
- How serious is the dropout and retention problem, particularly at the secondary stage and at key transition points?
- What does crossing one crore teachers mean for Pupil‑Teacher Ratios, and how are teachers distributed across levels and states?
- To what extent has India achieved gender and social equity (SC, ST, minorities, CWSN) in participation?
- How far have schools progressed in infrastructure and digital access, including electricity, internet, computers, and CWSN-friendly facilities?
- How do UDISE+ participation indicators compare with ASER 2024 learning outcomes, and what does this reveal about the learning crisis?
- Under different policy scenarios, is universal secondary education by 2030 achievable?
Highlights from UDISE+ 2024–25
Some of the central findings discussed in the book include:
-
Enrolment and Participation
- Total enrolment in Classes 1–12 declined to 23.29 crore in 2024–25, continuing a seven‑year contraction driven by demographic transition, post‑COVID shifts back to private schools, and improved data quality.
- Primary GER stands at 90.9%, upper primary at 90.3%, secondary at 78.7%, and higher secondary at 58.4%, with large GER–NER gaps at secondary, indicating widespread overage and underage enrolment.
-
Dropout, Transition and Retention
- Primary dropout has fallen to below 1%, but secondary dropout remains high; only about 47.2% of students who enter Class 9 complete Class 12.
- The transition from middle to secondary school is a major bottleneck, with roughly one in seven elementary graduates not progressing to Class 9.
-
Teachers and PTR
- India’s teachers have crossed the one-crore mark (1,01,22,420), with female teachers accounting for 54.2% of the workforce.
- The national PTR is 24:1, but an inverted deployment pyramid means primary schools account for nearly 45% of enrolment but only about 23% of teachers, yielding an effective PTR of about 44:1 at this stage.
-
Equity and Inclusion
- Gender parity in GER (GPI ≈ 1.0) has been sustained at all levels, with girls’ higher secondary GER now exceeding that of boys.
- SC and ST enrolment shares are broadly in line with population shares at the aggregate level, but ST higher secondary GER (about 51.9%) remains well below the national average.
- Children with special needs (CWSN) account for around 0.86% of total enrolment, with girls under‑represented within this group.
-
Infrastructure and the Digital Divide
- Around 93.6% of schools have electricity, but internet (63.5%) and computers (64.7%) remain unevenly available.
- CWSN‑friendly toilets are present in only about a third of schools, underscoring persistent barriers to full inclusion.
-
2030 Outlook under NEP 2020
- Under a business‑as‑usual scenario, secondary GER would reach only about 82–85% by 2030, with universality postponed beyond 2042.
- Moderate and transformational reform scenarios, involving higher public spending, better teacher deployment and targeted equity measures, offer more optimistic trajectories towards near‑universal secondary education by 2030.
Structure of the Book
The volume is organised into ten substantive chapters, plus front and back matter:
- About the Author; Preface; Executive Summary: Key Findings.
- Chapter 1:UDISE+ – Data Architecture, Evolution and the 2024–25 Release.
- Chapter 2:Enrolment Trends – A Seven‑Year Decline.
- Chapter 3:Gross Enrolment Ratios and the Distance to Universality.
- Chapter 4:Dropout, Transition, and Retention – The Efficiency Indicators.
- Chapter 5:Teachers – Strength, Deployment, and Quality.
- Chapter 6:Equity – Gender, Social Categories, and Inclusion.
- Chapter 7:School Infrastructure and the Digital Divide.
- Chapter 8:State‑Level Disparities – The Kerala–Bihar Divide and Beyond.
- Chapter 9:Comparing UDISE+ 2024–25 with ASER 2024.
- Chapter 10:Universalisation by 2030 – Prospects and Projections.
- Conclusion: Where India Stands, and the Road Ahead; References and Sources.
Citation and Usage Note
All statistics and figures in this volume are drawn from official UDISE+ 2024–25 publications of the Ministry of Education, Government of India, and from ASER 2024 reports where specified. The document is generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence; readers are advised to verify specific numbers and tables from the original UDISE+ and ASER sources before citing.
