Government schools lose 86 lakh students as private enrolment surges: UDISE report
Government schools lose 86 lakh students as private enrolment surges: UDISE report
M.U.H
07/07/20267
Government schools across India recorded a sharp decline in enrolment over the past two academic years, losing nearly 86 lakh students between 2023-24 and 2025-26. During the same period, recognised private unaided schools saw their enrolment rise by over 88 lakh, according to the UDISE+ 2025-26 report released by the Ministry of Education.
UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education Plus) is the Centre's official digital database that tracks key indicators across the school education sector, including student enrolment, school infrastructure, and teacher-related data.
Overall, total student enrolment from the foundational to secondary level stood at 24.72 crore in 2025-26, down from 24.80 crore in 2023-24, reflecting an overall decline of around 8.26 lakh students.
According to the report, enrolment in government schools dropped from 12.75 crore in 2023-24 to 11.89 crore in 2025-26. In contrast, recognised private unaided schools witnessed an increase in enrolment, rising from 9 crore to 9.89 crore during the same period.
PUPIL-TEACHER RATIO IMPROVES
The total number of schools saw a marginal decline from 14.72 lakh to 14.67 lakh. However, the teaching workforce grew from 98.08 lakh to 1.03 crore (1,02,73,020), leading to an improvement in the overall pupil-teacher ratio from 25:1 to 24:1.
The report also highlighted improvements in key school indicators. The number of zero-enrolment schools dropped from 12,954 to 5,663, while single-teacher schools declined from 1.11 lakh to 1.01 lakh.
IMPROVEMENT IN STUDENT RETENTION AT HIGHER GRADES
The report noted an improvement in student retention at the middle and secondary levels during the 2025-26 academic year. Retention at the middle level increased from 82.8 per cent in 2024-25 to 83.7 per cent in 2025-26, while the secondary level recorded a sharper rise from 47.2 per cent to 51.9 per cent over the same period.
However, the report also pointed to a marginal decline in retention at the foundational and preparatory levels in 2025-26, reversing the steady gains recorded over the previous three academic years, from 2022-23 to 2024-25.
