- Why in news
- The Department of School Education & Literacy released the UDISE+ 2025–26 report, which PIB summarised on 17 August 2026. It covers 14.67 lakh schools, 1.03 crore teachers and 24.72 crore students.
- What it is
- UDISE+ is a digital platform of the Department of School Education & Literacy that collects school education data from across India. It replaced the earlier UDISE system and is used for planning, policy and monitoring. It also tracks implementation of NEP 2020.
- Run by
- UDISE+ is developed and run by the Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSE&L), Ministry of Education.
- Launch
- UDISE+ was launched in 2018–19 as a data platform for evidence-based planning and monitoring.
- Pupil–teacher ratio
- The overall PTR is 24:1, within the NEP 2020 benchmark of 30:1.
- Weak schools
- Single-teacher schools fell about 3% to 1,00,843. Zero-enrolment schools fell 29% to 5,663.
- Digital access
- Schools with computers rose to 69.9% and with internet to 67.4%.
- Proposed widening
- The Additional Secretary spoke of tracking students' learning outcomes and dropouts through the APAAR ID.
- Integration through API
- DoSEL stressed linking other portals to UDISE+ through API to reduce the reporting burden on schools.
- AI use being explored
- Ideas include automated data flagging, smart verification queues, an AI helpdesk and automated school report cards.
- Data covered
- The data cover school infrastructure, student enrolment and teacher profiles.
Don’t confuse with PTR vs GER: PTR is students per teacher at a stage. GER is total enrolment at a stage as a share of the official age group population, and can exceed 100%.
Don’t confuse with Dropout vs retention vs transition: Dropout is the share leaving school. Retention is the share staying to a stage. Transition is the share moving from one stage to the next.
Don’t confuse with UDISE+ vs APAAR ID: UDISE+ is the school data system. APAAR ID is a student identifier that is proposed to be used with it to track students.
Reports and indices: 14 Prelims questions since 2013; they test who publishes a report and what it measures.
Why it matters
- Gives district-level data for evidence-based planning and for tracking NEP 2020 goals.
- Shows progress on gender and social inclusion and on basic school facilities.
- Reliable school data supports evidence-based planning, transparency and accountability.
- Linking student IDs can help track dropouts and learning outcomes.
Problems
- Secondary retention is only 51.9% and secondary GER is 71.7%, so access gaps remain.
- Over one lakh single-teacher schools remain, and only 29.9% of schools have rainwater harvesting.
- Data accuracy and validation differ across States and UTs.
- Many datasets, including those of examination boards, are not yet integrated.
- Data security and the reporting burden on schools remain concerns.
Way forward
- Rationalise teacher deployment and fill vacancies, especially in single-teacher schools.
- Target secondary-stage retention and extend internet and computers to the remaining schools.
- Integrate portals and board datasets through APIs to cut duplicate reporting.
- Use automated validation and AI tools while protecting data security.
Put in your answer
PTR against NEP benchmark: The PTR of 24:1 is better than the NEP 2020 norm of 30:1, though stage and state gaps can hide shortages.
Secondary retention gap: Retention falls from 98.5% at the Foundational stage to 51.9% at the Secondary stage.
Dropout analysis: States and districts were urged to analyse why students drop out of school.
- 2020Mains GS2 · Q18Critically examine NEP 2020's conformity with SDG-4 and restructuring intent
- 2020Mains GS1 · Q20How have digital initiatives contributed to functioning of India's education system?
- 2020Mains GS4 · Q1Examine NEP 2020 as a tool for all-round development and social transformation
- 2017Prelims Q88Purpose of Vidyanjali Yojana: private and community support for school education
- 2025Prelims Q6615th Finance Commission recommendations on grants for educational outcomes
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Lasting education data platform and report, but UPSC asked only 14 of 327 news-linked Prelims questions on reports, mostly background; routine data.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.