Women now 55% of India's teachers, girl enrolment rises to 48.4%: Education Ministry report

The Union Education Ministry on Tuesday released its annual Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report for the academic year 2025-26, revealing significant gains in gender parity and school retention across the country.

According to the report, women now constitute 54.9% of the total teaching force, up from previous years. Girl student enrolment has also edged up to 48.4%, compared to 48.3% in the previous year.

The report highlights improvements in student retention and reduction in dropout rates. At the preparatory level (Classes 3 to 5), the dropout rate fell from 2.3% in 2024-25 to 1.8% in 2025-26. More notably, the secondary level (Classes 9 to 12) dropout rate declined from 8.2% to 7.0%.

Student retention, which measures the percentage of students continuing education from one year to the next, improved across levels. At the middle level (Classes 6 to 8), retention rose to 83.7% from 82.8%. At the secondary level, retention increased to 51.9% from 47.2%.

The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at the secondary level surged to 71.7% from 68.5% last year. GER is a measure of enrolment relative to the official school-age population for a given level.

Transition rates from middle to secondary school also improved, rising from 86.6% to 88.3%.

The Ministry’s strategic rationalisation of teacher placement has resulted in a 3% reduction in single-teacher schools and a 29% drop in schools with zero enrolment, according to a Ministry statement.

Infrastructure improvements were also noted. The percentage of schools with computer access increased from 64.7% in 2024-25 to 69.9% in 2025-26. Internet connectivity in schools rose from 63.5% to 67.4%.

The report said 95% of schools now have electricity, 98.5% have girls’ toilets, 97.2% have boys’ toilets, 96.9% have handwashing facilities, and 99.5% have access to safe drinking water.

The total number of teachers in India has increased by 8.3% compared to 2022-23, according to the report.