Ensuring Equity amid India’s Educational Progress

Why in News? 

The Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2025-26 records improvements in enrolment, retention, teacher availability and school infrastructure. However, wide regional and social disparities show that expansion of schooling has not yet ensured equal access to quality education. 

What is UDISE+?

• UDISE+ is the Ministry of Education’s annual school-level information system. 
• It collects data on enrolment, teachers, infrastructure and student progression from recognised schools and supports evidence-based planning under schemes such as Samagra Shiksha.
• The 2025-26 report covers approximately 14.7 lakh schools, 24 crore students and 1.02 crore teachers. The report shows that educational inequality persists across accessibility, infrastructure, teacher availability, digital resources, and social inclusion. 

Major Improvements: 

• The number of teachers crossed 1.02 crore for the first time.
• Secondary-level Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) increased from 68.5% in 2024-25 to 71.7% in 2025-26.
• Secondary dropout declined from 8.2% to 7%.
• Retention at the secondary stage improved from 47.2% to 51.9%.
• Access to basic facilities such as electricity, drinking water and toilets has expanded.

Persistent Dimensions of Inequality:  

• Regional divide: Bihar has low enrolment and high dropout at several stages, while remote, tribal, hilly and border regions continue to face inadequate schools and transport.
• Unequal teacher deployment: High secondary-level PTR in States such as Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh coexists with very low ratios in smaller States and Union Territories. Thus, the national increase in teachers does not necessarily ensure their equitable distribution.
• Social disadvantage: SCs, STs, minorities, migrant children and economically weaker families face overlapping barriers involving poverty, discrimination, language and geographical isolation.
• Secondary-stage bottleneck: While access at the elementary level has expanded, transition and retention weaken considerably at the secondary stage, particularly among girls and disadvantaged groups.
• Disability exclusion: Many schools still lack ramps, accessible toilets, learning aids, special educators and inclusive pedagogy.
• Digital divide: Unequal access to devices, electricity, internet connectivity and digital literacy produces unequal learning opportunities.
• Access-quality gap: UDISE+ primarily measures administrative inputs and participation; it does not directly measure whether children acquire foundational literacy, numeracy and higher-order skills.
• Data exclusion: Aadhaar seeding can improve record accuracy, but it should not become a condition for admission or educational entitlements.

Way Forward: 

• Use district-level indicators to provide need-based rather than uniform funding.
• Rationalise teacher deployment while providing incentives, housing and training for service in remote areas.
• Strengthen scholarships, transport, hostels, school meals and conditional support for vulnerable students.
• Implement the Gender Inclusion Fund and Special Education Zones envisaged under NEP 2020.
• Ensure universal disability-friendly and digitally accessible infrastructure.
• Integrate UDISE+ data with independent assessments of learning outcomes while protecting children’s privacy.
• Improve coordination between the Union, States and local governments, consistent with education’s position in the Concurrent List.

Article 21A, Article 46, NEP 2020 and SDG-4 require more than universal enrolment. India must shift from counting children in schools to ensuring that every child, irrespective of identity or location, can attend, learn and complete quality schooling.