NEW DELHI: The Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2024-25 report says that for the first time ever, the number of school teachers in India has gone beyond one crore. This is a big step forward for the country’s education system. The Ministry of Education called this milestone, which is up from 98 lakh last year and 94.8 lakh in 2022-23, a “significant achievement in the history of school education.”
The study, which is a full data collection system run by the education ministry, shows a direct improvement in the Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR). The PTR, which is a critical measure of classroom quality, is currently 10 at the foundational level, 13 at the preparatory level, 17 at the middle level, and 21 at the secondary level. These ratios are all much lower than the National Education Policy’s ideal ratio of 30:1. This means that pupils are getting more one-on-one attention and that teacher-student relationships are getting better.
The data also shows a surprising trend in the gender makeup of the teaching staff. Since 2014, 51.36 lakh instructors have been hired, and 61 percent of them are women. There are now more female teachers (54.81 lakh) than male teachers (46.41 lakh), which is a good sign that the profession is moving toward gender equality.
69% of India’s 14.71 lakh schools are managed by the government, and they enroll 49% of all pupils. On the other hand, private schools, which make up 26 percent of all schools, serve a large 41 percent of the student body. The tendency is the same for teachers: 51% work in government schools and 42% work in private schools.
The report also talks about how much better students are staying in school. The number of students who drop out of school has gone down at all levels, with a big drop from 3.7% to 2.3% in just one year at the preparatory level. Retention rates have also gone up, with almost 99% of kids staying in school through the foundational period. Officials say that these good trends are because schools are “more supportive and responsive” to what kids need.
Infrastructure has also been better in obvious ways. The number of schools with only one instructor has dropped by 6%, and the number of schools with no students has dropped by 38%. This shows that resources are being used more efficiently. Access to digital tools has constantly increased. Now, 64.7% of schools have computers and 63.5% have internet access. Almost all schools now have access to basic necessities like drinking water, electricity, and separate bathrooms for boys and girls.
The Ministry said that the results show how focused actions over the previous few years have made a difference, such as hiring more teachers and making campuses more welcoming and fair.