Education Ministry’s UDISE+ Enrollment and School Coverage Reports

• The Ministry of Education (MoE) released the Unied District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) for 2022-23, 2023-24 on December 30, 2024.

• The data shows a sharp drop in the total number of students studying in India from 26.3 crore in 2012-13 to 24.8 crore in 2023-24, a 6% drop from earlier years.

• The change in methodology of data collection, including individual data collection from each student, is cited as the reason for the drop.

• The enrolment decline can be attributed to the elimination of duplicate enrolments and inated enrolment figures.

• The UDISE+ report is not comparable with previous years, but efficiency indicators like dropout, transition, and retention rates of students were computed based on UDISE+ 2021-22 data.

• Despite the revamped data collection methods, there has been a decline in the enrolment of students between 2022-23 and 2023-24 by 37 lakh.

• The decline in schools covered under UDISE+ is most pronounced in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and Uttar Pradesh.

• Other affected states include Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

• The report does not provide an explanation for the decline of schools, and the reasons for the closure of schools are unclear.