Government school enrolment shrinks by 86 lakh in 2 years despite lower dropout rates: UDISE report | Education News
4 min readNew DelhiJul 8, 2026 09:46 AM IST
Reflecting a continued shift in school preferences, enrolment in government schools fell by nearly 86 lakh students between the 2023-24 and 2025-26 academic years, while private unaided recognised schools gained more than 88 lakh students during the same period, according to the UDISE+ 2025-26 report released by the Ministry of Education on Tuesday.
The report also highlighted positive trends in student retention and dropout rates, with dropout rates declining across key stages of schooling and the number of teachers crossing the one-crore mark for the first time.
The Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) is the Ministry of Education’s official database that tracks school infrastructure, enrolment, and teacher-related data across the country.
Government schools lose students
According to the report, total enrolment from the foundational to secondary level stood at 24.72 crore in 2025-26, down marginally from 24.80 crore in 2023-24.
However, the shift between government and private schools is significant. Enrolment in government schools went down from 12.75 crore to 11.89 crore, a decline of nearly 86 lakh students, while enrolment in private unaided recognised schools increased from 9 crore to 9.89 crore, adding more than 88 lakh students over the same period.
The total number of schools declined slightly from 14.72 lakh to 14.67 lakh. At the same time, the number of teachers rose from 98.08 lakh to 1.03 crore (1,02,73,020), improving the overall pupil-teacher ratio from 25:1 to 24:1.
Further, the report showed a decline in the number of zero-enrolment schools, from 12,954 in 2023-24 to 5,663 in 2025-26, while single-teacher schools declined from 1.11 lakh to 1.01 lakh.
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Dropout rates decline
The report recorded a consistent decline in school dropout rates across major learning stages. At the preparatory level, the dropout rate fell from 2.3 per cent in 2024-25 to 1.8 per cent in 2025-26, while at the secondary level it declined from 8.2 per cent to 7 per cent.
“The academic year 2025-26 has seen a notable reduction in dropout rates across preparatory and secondary levels compared to previous years,” the report said, adding that the trend reflects improved student retention and the impact of initiatives aimed at keeping children in school.
Retention improves at higher levels
Student retention improved at the middle and secondary levels during 2025-26. The retention rate at the middle level increased from 82.8 per cent in 2024-25 to 83.7 per cent, while at the secondary level it rose from 47.2 per cent to 51.9 per cent.
The report, however, noted a marginal decline in retention at the foundational and preparatory stages after three consecutive years of improvement.
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It attributed the gains at the secondary level partly to the expansion in the number of schools offering secondary education, which has improved access and encouraged students to continue their education.
Secondary GER rises
The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at the secondary level improved from 68.5 per cent in 2024-25 to 71.7 per cent in 2025-26, indicating greater participation in secondary education.
Teachers cross one crore
For the first time, the total number of school teachers in the country crossed 1.02 crore during an academic year. According to the report, the teacher workforce has increased steadily since 2022-23, registering an 8.3 per cent rise over the three years. The Ministry said the increase would help improve student-teacher ratios, enhance learning outcomes, and reduce regional disparities in teacher availability.
The report is based on data voluntarily uploaded by schools with active UDISE+ codes for the 2025-26 academic year, with March 31, 2026, as the reference date.