The Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+) and AISHE reports on India’s school education highlight two different aspects of education. According to the UDISE report, 13 schools are closing every day in the country. Madhya Pradesh is at the forefront among the states where schools are closing.
The AISHE report shows that the number of girls in higher education has increased. The report states that in 2025-26, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER 31.2) for girls in higher education was recorded, which is higher than for boys.
UDISE+ Report:
2,426 of the closed schools are from Madhya Pradesh alone
Thirteen schools are closing every day across the country. During the year 2025-26, a total of 4,791 schools closed across the country. Madhya Pradesh is at the forefront in school closures. Of the total schools closed in the country, more than half — 2,426 schools — are from Madhya Pradesh alone.
1,392 schools closed in Telangana
During the year 2024-25, there were 14 lakh 71 thousand 473 schools in the country. But in 2025-26, this number decreased to 14 lakh 66 thousand 682. Among the remaining schools that closed, 1,392 were in Telangana, 568 in West Bengal, 474 in Andhra Pradesh, 369 in Tamil Nadu, 281 in Karnataka and 266 in Himachal Pradesh.
5,663 schools have no students, but 20,667 teachers
For the first time in the country, a decline has been recorded in the number of schools with zero enrolment, i.e. schools without students. Schools with zero enrolment have decreased from 7,993 to 5,663 in the past year. These schools also have 20,667 teachers deployed.
In West Bengal, the number of such schools increased by 321 last year. These schools also have 1,573 teachers who have no one to teach. West Bengal now has 4,133 schools with 19,502 teachers who have no responsibility to teach anyone.
In Uttar Pradesh, there were 81 schools without enrolment in the previous session, and 56 teachers had no responsibility to teach anyone. In 2025-26, the number of schools without enrolment increased to 313, and the number of teachers in these schools increased to 177. The most interesting state is Chhattisgarh, where there was not a single school with zero enrolment in 2024-25, but in 2025-26 there are 149 such schools. There are also 140 teachers deployed there.
AISHE Report:
Number of girls in higher education increased
The Central Ministry of Education has released the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) reports for the years 2022-23 and 2023-24. According to the report, the scope of higher education in the country is continuously expanding, under which the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education has reached 30 for the first time.
The report states that the GER for girls in higher education was recorded at 31.2, which is higher than that of males. This shows that the participation of girls in higher education has increased, which is a new record in itself. In AISHE, institutions themselves upload data onto the portal. In the year 2022-23, 56,180 institutes participated in the survey, and in 2023-24, 59,533 higher education institutes participated. Participation in both years remained above 90%.
Women outnumber men in higher education for the 7th consecutive year
According to the report, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for higher education in 2014-15 was 23.7, which increased to 29.5 in 2022-23. In 2023-24, it was recorded at 30. Meanwhile, women’s participation, i.e. GER, was 22.9 in 2014-15, which increased to 31.2 in 2023-24.
Thus, the number of women in higher education has increased. The report states that the Gender Parity Index (GPI) in 2023-24 was 1.08. This means that for the seventh consecutive year, women’s participation in higher education has been higher than men’s.
Number of SC students in higher education also increased
According to the report, participation of socially disadvantaged groups in obtaining higher education has also increased, with enrolment of Scheduled Caste (SC) students rising from 46.07 lakh in 2014-15 to 69.72 lakh in 2023-24.
Meanwhile, enrolment of Scheduled Tribe (ST) students increased from 16.41 lakh to 28.83 lakh, and enrolment of Other Backward Class (OBC) students also increased from 1.13 crore to 1.80 crore.
Number of women teachers reaches 7.78 lakh
According to the report, the number of teachers in higher education institutions has also increased. In the year 2023-24, a total of 17.32 lakh teachers were working, of whom 55.1% were men and 44.9% were women. The number of women teachers has increased from 5.69 lakh in 2014-15 to 7.78 lakh in 2023-24.
