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India's school enrolment has declined by over 11 lakhs in a year, slipping from 24.80 crore in 2023-24 to 24.69 crore in 2024-25, according to the latest Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report released by the Ministry of Education on Thursday.
This continues a downward trend, enrolment had already declined by approximately 37 lakh students in the 2023-24 academic year, from 25.17 crore to 24.80 crore When asked about the dip, Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, attributed it to the country's demographic shift, saying the "drop in enrolment is primarily due to the declining fertility rate." The fall comes even as the report flagged significant gains in other areas of school education, including the highest-ever teacher strength, improved pupil-teacher ratios, reduced dropout rates, better retention, and wider digital access. For the first time, the number of teachers has surpassed the one crore mark, rising to 1.01 crore in 2024-25 from 98.07 lakh the previous year. This has led to improved pupil-teacher ratios of 10 at the foundational level, 13 at the preparatory level, 17 at the middle level, and 21 at the secondary level, far better than the National Education Policy's recommended 1:30 benchmark. Dropout rates also showed a steady decline, falling to 2.3% at the preparatory stage, 3.5% at middle, and 8.2% at secondary, while retention rates improved across levels. However, secondary retention remains a concern at just 47.2%, despite a slight rise from last year. Infrastructure and digital facilities saw notable progress, with 64.7% of schools now having computers and 63.5% with internet connectivity, up sharply from 57.2% and 53.9% in 2023-24. Basic facilities have also improved, with electricity in 93.6% of schools, girls' toilets in 97.3%, and access to safe drinking water in 99.3%. The number of single-teacher schools has reduced by 6% and zero-enrolment schools by nearly 38%. (ANI)
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