Ensuring equity amid India’s educational progress

Source: The post “Ensuring equity amid India’s educational progress” has been created based on “Ensuring equity amid India’s educational progress” published in “The Hindu” on 22nd August 2026.

UPSC Syllabus: GS 2- Governance

Context: The UDISE+ 2025-26 report covers around 14.7 lakh schools, 24 crore students and 1.02 crore teachers. It shows improvement in enrolment, retention, dropout reduction, teacher availability and infrastructure. However, regional, social and economic disparities continue to affect access, quality and learning outcomes.

Major disparities highlighted by UDISE+

1. Regional disparities: Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), dropout rates, pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) and infrastructure availability vary significantly across States and Union Territories.
2. Social disparities: At the national level, GER is highest for OBCs (49%), followed by General category (27%), SCs (17%) and STs (10%), indicating differences in enrolment relative to the population of each group.
3. Gender: The Gender Parity Index shows that girls’ enrolment and participation are higher than boys in most States/UTs, indicating progress in girls’ education.
4. Aadhaar seeding: Andhra Pradesh has the highest Aadhaar seeding at 99.6%, while Meghalaya has the lowest at 35%, against the national average of 90.2%.
5. Unequal school structure: West Bengal has a high proportion of foundational and preparatory schools, while Chandigarh has a very high share of secondary schools. This reflects differences in the availability and structure of schools across regions.
6. School size: Average enrolment per school is very high in Chandigarh (1,194) and Delhi (788), while it is very low in Ladakh (64), showing substantial regional differences in school size.

Regional differences in GER

1. Foundational stage: Meghalaya records the highest GER at 131, while Bihar records the lowest at 24.
2. Preparatory stage: Meghalaya has the highest GER at 171, while Gujarat has the lowest at 74.
3. Middle stage: Chandigarh and Meghalaya record the highest GER at 118, while Bihar records the lowest at 70.
4. Secondary stage: Chandigarh records the highest GER at 109, while Bihar has the lowest at 48.
5. These variations show that access and continuation in education remain uneven across India.

Teacher-related challenges

1. The pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) varies significantly between States and across educational stages.
2. Jharkhand has the highest secondary PTR at 43, followed by Uttar Pradesh, indicating a heavy workload on teachers.
3. In contrast, Sikkim has a secondary PTR of only 6, followed by Ladakh.
4. Rural and remote schools often face teacher shortages, with teachers handling multiple classes, subjects and non-teaching duties.
5. High PTR reduces individual attention and can adversely affect learning outcomes.

Dropout and transition challenges

1. Bihar has the highest preparatory-stage dropout rate at 7.9% and the highest middle-stage dropout rate at 9%.
2. Ladakh has the highest secondary-stage dropout rate at 14.8%, followed by Karnataka.
3. West Bengal has a low secondary dropout rate of 1.5%.
4. High dropout rates affect educational attainment and transition to higher stages of schooling.
5. Although girls’ participation has improved, challenges remain in reducing dropout and ensuring transition from primary to secondary education.

Infrastructure and accessibility gaps

1. Access to drinking water and electricity has improved, but infrastructure remains uneven across regions.
2. Rural, hilly, tribal, remote and border areas continue to face shortages of schools and transport facilities.
3. Districts such as Bageshwar, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Kathua and Palghar face accessibility challenges.
4. Children from SC, ST, minority and economically weaker families face greater barriers to enrolment, attendance and completion.
5. Educationally backward districts continue to face weaker learning environments compared with urban areas.

Inclusion challenges

1. Children with disabilities continue to face inadequate access to suitable facilities, accessible classrooms and inclusive infrastructure.
2. Inclusive education requires not only physical accessibility but also supportive teaching practices.
3. Social and economic disadvantages can reinforce educational inequalities among vulnerable groups.

Way forward

1. Targeted investment should be directed towards educationally deprived and remote regions.
2. Teacher deployment should be made more equitable, with special attention to rural, tribal, hilly and border areas.
3. Teacher shortages should be reduced and teachers should be protected from excessive non-teaching responsibilities.
4. Schools should receive adequate digital infrastructure and learning resources.
5. Transport and school infrastructure should be strengthened in remote areas.
6. Special support should be provided to SCs, STs, minorities, economically weaker families and children with disabilities.
7. Measures to reduce dropout and improve transition to secondary education should be strengthened.
8. In line with NEP 2020, education policy should focus simultaneously on access, equity, inclusion and quality.

Conclusion: India has made substantial progress in expanding school education, particularly in enrolment, girls’ participation, infrastructure and teacher availability. However, the UDISE+ data show that progress has not been uniform. A combination of targeted investment, equitable teacher deployment, inclusive infrastructure, digital access and support for disadvantaged groups is necessary to ensure that educational progress translates into equal learning opportunities for every child.

Question: The UDISE+ 2025-26 data indicate significant progress in India’s school education system, but also reveal persistent regional and social inequalities. Discuss the major challenges to equitable and inclusive school education in India and suggest measures to address them.

Source: The Hindu