School Dropout Rate Declines: UDISE+ 2025–26 and PGI 2.0 Reports

Recent Developments:

• The Union Ministry of Education has released the UDISE+ 2025–26 Report and Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 for 2025–26, highlighting improvements in dropout rates, student retention, teacher strength, digital infrastructure, and school governance, while indicating that learning outcomes and regional disparities remain major policy concerns.

UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education Plus):

• UDISE+ is the official national database for school education maintained by the Ministry of Education.
• It serves as the primary Education Management Information System (EMIS) for evidence-based educational planning and policy formulation.
• The database compiles information uploaded by schools with active UDISE+ Codes on:
• School infrastructure, student enrolment, teacher-related indicators, basic amenities, digital facilities, learning environment and institutional characteristics.
• The database supports resource allocation, monitoring of educational indicators, implementation of NEP 2020 and achievement of SDG 4 (Quality Education).

Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0:

• PGI 2.0 evaluates the performance of States and Union Territories in school education through a uniform assessment framework.
• The framework assesses performance across six domains:
• Learning Outcomes, Access, Infrastructure & Facilities, Equity, Governance Process, Teacher Education & Training.
• PGI 2.0 contains 73 indicators carrying a total weightage of 1,000 marks and classifies States and UTs into a 10-tier grading system instead of conventional rankings, encouraging continuous improvement rather than direct competition.

Key Findings of UDISE+ 2025–26:

Dropout Rate:

• Preparatory-level dropout declined from 2.3% to 1.8%.
• Secondary-level dropout declined from 8.2% to 7.0%.
• Ladakh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka recorded comparatively higher secondary-level dropout rates.
• Improved performance has been supported by better school accessibility, expansion of secondary schools, targeted government interventions and improved school environments.

Student Retention:

• Middle-level retention increased from 82.8% to 83.7%.
• Secondary-level retention improved from 47.2% to 51.9%.
• Foundational and Preparatory stages recorded a marginal decline after three years of continuous improvement.
• Nearly one-half of students entering Class I continue up to Class XII, indicating persistent educational attrition at higher stages.

Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER):

• Secondary-level GER increased from 68.5% to 71.7%, indicating improved access and continuation in secondary education.

Teacher Strength and Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR):

• Total school teachers crossed 1.02 crore for the first time, recording an 8.3% increase compared to 2022–23.
• Women teachers constituted 54.9% of the teaching workforce.
• Improved PTR remained significantly better than the NEP 2020 benchmark of 30:1:
• Foundational: 10
• Preparatory: 12
• Middle: 17
• Secondary: 21
• Better PTR is expected to improve individual attention, classroom interaction and learning quality.

School Rationalisation:

• Zero-enrolment schools declined by 29% to 5,663.
• Single-teacher schools declined by 3% to 1,00,843, indicating improved institutional consolidation and teacher deployment.

Girls' Education:

• Girls constituted 48.4% of total enrolment, showing a marginal improvement over the previous academic year.

Digital Infrastructure and School Facilities:

• Schools with computer facilities increased from 64.7% to 69.9%.
• Internet connectivity improved from 63.5% to 67.4%.
• Availability of essential facilities remained high:
• Safe drinking water: 99.5%
• Girls' toilets: 98.5%
• Boys' toilets: 97.2%
• Grid electricity: 95%
• Playground availability declined from 83% to 81.9%, raising concerns regarding physical education.

Inclusive Education:

• Schools with ramps and handrails for children with disabilities increased from 54.9% to 58.2%, improving accessibility.

Enrolment Profile:

• Minority communities accounted for over 20% of total enrolment.
• Minority composition included:
• Muslims: 79.4%
• Christians: 10.1%
• Sikhs: 7.1%
• Buddhists: 2.0%
• Jains: 1.3%
• Parsis: 0.1%
• Social category distribution comprised:
• OBC: 44.9%
• General: 27.5%
• SC: 17.7%
• ST: 10%

Key Findings of PGI 2.0:

Overall Performance:

• No State or Union Territory achieved any of the top three grades of the PGI framework.
• Chandigarh emerged as the highest performer with a score of 766, becoming the only UT to enter the 'Uttam-3' category.

Performance Categories:

• Prachesta-1: Delhi, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Kerala and Punjab.
• Prachesta-2: Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, Odisha and Lakshadweep.
• Most States were placed in Prachesta-3 and Akanshi-1 categories.
• States in the lower-performing Akanshi category included Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jamm& Kashmir, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya.

Domain-wise Leaders:

• Learning Outcomes: Punjab, Kerala.
• Access: Kerala, Puducherry.
• Teacher Education & Training: Kerala, Lakshadweep.
• Equity: Tamil Nadu.

States Showing Decline:

• Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Odisha and Uttarakhand registered lower PGI scores compared to the previous year.

Inter-State Disparity:

• The performance gap between the highest and lowest scoring States reduced to 31.4%, compared with 51% in 2017–18, indicating gradual reduction in regional disparities.

Major Significance:

Positive Developments:

• Lower dropout rates indicate improved school participation.
• Higher retention and GER demonstrate better educational continuity.
• Teacher recruitment and improved PTR strengthen classroom effectiveness.
• Expansion of digital infrastructure supports technology-enabled learning.
• Near-universal access to basic amenities reflects improvement in school infrastructure.
• Reduction in zero-enrolment and single-teacher schools improves institutional efficiency.

Key Challenges:

• Only about half of Class I students reach Class XII, indicating substantial long-term attrition.
• Learning outcomes continue to remain weaker than improvements in access and infrastructure.
• Foundational-stage retention requires renewed policy attention.
• Regional disparities continue across educational quality and governance.
• Declining playground availability may adversely affect holistic development.
• Gender parity has improved only marginally despite sustained interventions.
• Teacher distribution remains uneven across several regions.

Value Addition for UPSC:

Relevant Constitutional Provisions:

• Article 21A: Right to free and compulsory education for children aged 6–14 years.
• Article 45: Early Childhood Care and Education.
• Article 46: Promotion of educational interests of SCs, STs and weaker sections.

Important Acts and Policies:

• Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009
• National Education Policy (NEP), 2020
• Samagra Shiksha
• NIPUN Bharat Mission
• PM SHRI Schools Scheme
• PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) for national assessment reforms