 "This scary report about the children of India, the government has to take immediate action, otherwise…")
A report has come out in the country which has forced the government to think. This report is not on the youth or the elderly. This report is about India’s childhood. After this report, the government needs to take immediate action. The number of children in schools is decreasing. This is a worrying and thought provoking situation as a society. However, the UDISE+ report has definitely brought some relief. According to the UDISE+ report, for the first time in many years, student enrollment in schools has declined by more than one crore in 2022-23 and 2023-24. Although there was an average drop of Rs 26 crore every year over the last four years, officials attributed the decline to better data collection methods.
According to an Indian Express report, UDISE is the most comprehensive database on school education in India. It serves as an important tool for monitoring and evaluating the quality of education from pre-primary to higher secondary level. The report is prepared by the Ministry of Education on the basis of data provided directly by the states on parameters such as enrollment, number of teachers and number of schools.
The latest report shows that school enrollment remained above 26 crore from 2018-19 to 2021-22, with a marginal increase of a few lakh students every year. While there was a slight dip during the 2020-21 Covid period, the number remained above 26 crore during this period. For the first time, the enrollment figures fell to 25.17 crore in 2022-23 and further fell to 24.8 crore in 2023-24. This represents a decline of about 1.55 crore students (about 6 per cent) from 2018-19 to 2021-22, when enrollment averaged 26.36 crore.
What did the government say?
Education Ministry officials acknowledged the decline in enrollment, but said it stemmed from revised data collection methods implemented in 2022-23. Under the new system, schools will now have to provide student-specific information instead of school-level numbers.
This requires a detailed record for each student. This includes their name, parent’s name, address and Aadhaar number and not just reporting the total class number. A senior official said, “This may result in some numbers being lost, such as children who are registered in government and private schools.