Prime Highlights
- For the first time, the number of teachers in India has surpassed one crore, improving pupil-teacher ratios and overall learning conditions.
- The UDISE+ 2024-25 report reflects steady progress in inclusivity, infrastructure, and student retention across schools nationwide.
Key Facts
- Teacher count rose by 6.7% in two years, reaching 1.01 crore in 2024-25, with pupil-teacher ratios far better than the NEP target of 30:1 (10:1 in foundational, 13:1 in preparatory, 17:1 in middle, and 21:1 in secondary).
- Dropout rates declined to 2.3% in preparatory, 3.5% in middle, and 8.2% in secondary; meanwhile, schools with computers rose to 65% and internet access to 63.5%.
Background
The Ministry of Education released the UDISE+ 2024-25 report, which showed that India has reached a significant milestone in school education, with the count of teachers surpassing one crore in the first instance. The growth of teachers has contributed to better pupil-teacher ratios, fewer dropouts, and better learning conditions in schools nationwide.
The overall teacher count has increased by 6.7 percent in only two years, reaching 1.01 crore in 2024-25, compared to 94.8 lakh in 2022-23. This has resulted in the reduction of classes to 10:1 in foundational grades, 13:1 in preparatory, 17:1 in middle, and 21:1 in secondary schools. These are all significantly higher than the National Education Policy (NEP) target of 30:1.
Dropout rates have also declined, with just 2.3 percent of students leaving school at the preparatory stage, 3.5 percent in middle school, and 8.2 percent in secondary. Retention rates stood at 98.9 percent in foundational classes and 92.4 percent in preparatory. Gross enrolment has reached 90.3 percent in middle school and 68.5 percent in secondary, while transition rates are above 98 percent from foundational to preparatory and nearly 87 percent from middle to secondary.
Schools are also improving in facilities. Computers are now present at around 65 percent of schools, and 63.5 percent have internet access. A majority of the schools offer clean drinking water, power supply, toilets (with hand washing), and boy and girl toilets. Single teacher schools have decreased by 6 percent to 1.04 lakh, and zero enrolment schools have declined by 38 percent.
The report also highlights inclusivity gains, with women making up 54.2 percent of all teachers and girls’ enrolment reaching 48.3 percent. Officials said these improvements mark steady progress toward building a stronger and more inclusive education system.
