India Crosses 1 Crore Teachers Mark for First Time: Government Data

For the first time, India's school education system has more than 1.03 crore teachers, according to fresh government data. The country also has nearly 24.72 crore students enrolled across 14.67 lakh schools.

The figures come from two assessments released by the Union Ministry of Education: the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 for States and Union Territories, and the Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) 2025-26. Both reports draw on data from the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) and other government platforms.

The PGI framework does not rank states and union territories individually but groups them into performance bands. Developed by the Department of School Education and Literacy, the index is scored out of 1,000 points across 70 indicators. These indicators fall under two broad heads: Outcome, and Governance and Management. They are further spread across six domains: learning outcomes and quality, access, infrastructure and facilities, equity, governance processes, and teacher education and training.

The ministry has extended this grading exercise to the district level through the PGI-D. This framework assesses every district on a common set of indicators with a focus on education outcomes. The district index carries a weightage of 600 points across 70 indicators, grouped into six categories: outcomes, effective classroom transaction, infrastructure and student entitlements, school safety and child protection, and digital learning. These categories span 11 broader domains, from learning outcomes and teacher availability to school leadership.

With over 14.67 lakh schools and students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, the two indices aim to give policymakers a clearer, data-backed picture of India's school education system at both state and district levels.