School Dropout Rate Reduced While Enrolment, Infra Improved, Says UDISE Plus Report 2025

NEW DELHI:  The school dropout rate has reduced while there has been an improvement in enrolment, infrastructure upgrade and teacher workforce, according to the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2024-25 report released by the Ministry of Education.

The UDISE+ 2024-25 report provides a detailed overview of school education across India. The UDISE+ 2024-25 data highlights India’s steady progress in improving teacher strength, school infrastructure, student retention, and inclusivity, reflecting a stronger, more equitable school education system.

For the first time since UDISE+ was launched, the total number of teachers in the country has crossed the one crore mark, signaling a significant boost to the education system.

According to the report, the teacher workforce increased from 94.8 lakh in 2022-23 to over 1.01 crore in 2024-25, a rise of 6.7% over two years.

This growth is helping improve the student-teacher ratio (PTR), now at 10:1 at the Foundational stage, 13:1 at the Preparatory stage, 17:1 in Middle grades, and 21:1 in Secondary classes-all better than the National Education Policy (NEP) benchmark of 30:1.

Key Highlights Of UDISE+ 2024-25

Dropout rates decline: Dropouts fell across levels-Preparatory at 2.3%, Middle at 3.5%, and Secondary at 8.2%.

Retention improves: Student retention rose to 98.9% at the Foundational level, 92.4% at Preparatory, 82.8% at Middle, and 47.2% at Secondary.

GER improved: Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) increased to 90.3% in Middle grades and 68.5% at Secondary level.

Smooth transitions: Progression rates between stages improved-98.6% from Foundational to Preparatory, 92.2% from Preparatory to Middle, and 86.6% from Middle to Secondary.

School infrastructure: Schools with computers rose to 64.7% from 57.2% last year while Internet connectivity reached 63.5%, up from 53.9%. Access to electricity is available in 93.6% of schools and safe drinking water in 99.3%.

Sanitation facilities: Girls’ toilets (97.3%), boys’ toilets (96.2%), handwashing stations (95.9%).

Inclusivity: Schools with ramps and handrails increased to 54.9%, enhancing accessibility for children with disabilities.

Single-teacher and zero-enrolment decline: Single-teacher schools declined by 6%, while zero-enrolment schools dropped by 38%.

Gender representation in teaching: Female teachers now constitute 54.2% of the workforce.

Girls’ enrolment: The proportion of girls enrolled rose to 48.3%.

Gender-sensitive classrooms: The Ministry of Education emphasises that improvements in female representation are crucial for fostering “gender-sensitive and supportive classrooms.”

To view the other parameters on UDISE database dashboard, click here.