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New Delhi: India has, for the first time, crossed the milestone of having more than one crore school teachers in a single academic year. This happened in 2024–25, even as the number of children enrolled in schools fell to its lowest in seven years.According to the Ministry of Education’s Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), the total enrolment in schools stood at 24.68 crore in 2024–25, which is about 11 lakh less than the previous year. Officials said the fall in enrolment is mainly because of declining birth rates, though some states have shown a different trend. They added that the enrolment calculation is based on the 2011 Census population, which inflates the denominator in Gross Enrolment Ratio projections, and that the upcoming Census in 2026 will provide a clearer picture.Even though fewer children are coming into schools, the number of teachers has been rising steadily, improving the student-teacher balance. The UDISE+ data shows that at the foundational stage, the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) is now 10, at the preparatory stage 13, at the middle stage 17, and at the secondary stage 21. These ratios are much better than the 1:30 benchmark suggested in the National Education Policy 2020. Teacher strength has gone up by 6.7% compared to 2022–23, a growth that officials said will ensure more individual attention to students, stronger teacher-student interaction and better classroom support.The overall enrolment has been shrinking over the last few years. In 2022–23, 25.18 crore students were enrolled, which dropped to 24.8 crore in 2023–24 and further to 24.68 crore in 2024–25. But alongside this fall, dropout rates have shown a sharp decline. At the preparatory stage, dropouts have come down from 3.7% to 2.3%; at the middle level, from 5.2% to 3.5%; and at the secondary level, from 10.9% to 8.2%. Officials said this shows that children are staying in schools longer and schools are becoming more responsive to students’ needs.Retention levels have also gone up. At the foundational stage, retention improved from 98.0% to 98.9%; at the preparatory level from 85.4% to 92.4%; at the middle level from 78% to 82.8%; and at the secondary level from 45.6% to 47.2%. The report said one major reason for the improvement at the secondary level is the increase in the number of schools offering secondary education, which has made access easier and encouraged students to continue.UDISE+ also reported a significant decline in single-teacher and zero-enrolment schools. Officials said this has been possible because of targeted government interventions aimed at rationalising schools and teacher allocation. The number of single-teacher schools fell by about 6% compared to last year, while schools with zero enrolment declined by nearly 38%. The report said this reduction is a sign of better planning and will help create a more balanced education system.
