Mumbai, July 10: A recent report from the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+) and the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) highlights two critical aspects of India’s educational landscape. According to UDISE+, an alarming trend has emerged as 13 schools are closing daily across the country, with Madhya Pradesh leading the way with 2,426 school closures.
The AISHE report reveals a positive development in higher education, noting a significant increase in the enrollment of girls. The Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) for girls in higher education reached 31.2% for the academic year 2025-26, surpassing that of boys.
UDISE+ Report:
Daily, 13 schools are shutting down, with Madhya Pradesh accounting for over half of these closures. In the academic year 2025-26, a total of 4,791 schools were closed nationwide, with Madhya Pradesh alone contributing 2,426 closures.
Other states facing school closures include Telangana with 1,392, West Bengal with 568, Andhra Pradesh with 474, Tamil Nadu with 369, Karnataka with 281, and Himachal Pradesh with 266.
Interestingly, the number of schools with zero enrollment has decreased for the first time, dropping from 7,993 to 5,663 over the past year. These schools still employ 20,667 teachers. In West Bengal, however, the number of such schools increased by 321, leaving 19,502 teachers without students to teach.
AISHE Report:
The Ministry of Education has released the AISHE report for the years 2022-23 and 2023-24, indicating a steady rise in higher education enrollment. The GER for higher education has now reached 30, marking a significant milestone.
For the first time, the GER for girls in higher education has outpaced that of boys, indicating a growing participation of women in this sector. In 2023-24, the number of higher education institutions participating in the survey increased from 56,180 to 59,533, maintaining a participation rate of over 90%.
Women have consistently outnumbered men in higher education enrollment for seven consecutive years. The GER for women rose from 22.9 in 2014-15 to 31.2 in 2023-24, showcasing a remarkable increase in female participation.
The report also highlights a rise in enrollment among socially disadvantaged groups, with Scheduled Caste (SC) students increasing from 4.607 million in 2014-15 to 6.972 million in 2023-24, and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students rising from 1.641 million to 2.883 million.
Additionally, the number of female teachers in higher education has grown to 778,000, up from 569,000 in 2014-15, reflecting a positive trend in gender representation among educators.