The Ministry of Education released the UDISE+ 2025–26 figures on 17 August 2026. The national school database now covers 14.67 lakh schools, 1.03 crore teachers and 24.72 crore students. The headline numbers: the dropout rate at the Secondary stage (Classes 9–12 under the NEP structure) has fallen to 7.0%, Gross Enrolment Ratio at that stage has risen to 71.7%, and the overall pupil–teacher ratio is 24:1 — inside the NEP 2020 benchmark of 30:1.
One number deserves more attention than the press release gives it. The retention rate at the Secondary stage is 51.9%, against 98.5% at the Foundational stage. Roughly half of the children who reach Class 9 are not being held by the system all the way through the secondary stage — even as fewer are formally dropping out each year. If you are a student in Class 9 or a parent of one, that is the stage where the system thins out, and it is the stage worth planning for.
UDISE+ 2025–26 key figures at a glance
| Indicator | UDISE+ 2025–26 figure |
|---|---|
| Schools covered | 14.67 lakh |
| Teachers | 1.03 crore |
| Students enrolled | 24.72 crore |
| Average per school | 7 teachers, 169 students |
| Overall pupil–teacher ratio | 24:1 (NEP benchmark 30:1) |
| GER — Secondary stage | 71.7% |
| GER — Middle stage | 89.6% |
| Dropout — Secondary | 7.0% |
| Dropout — Middle | 3.6% (marginal rise) |
| Dropout — Preparatory | 1.8% |
| Retention — Foundational / Preparatory / Middle / Secondary | 98.5% / 91.1% / 83.7% / 51.9% |
| Girls in total enrolment | 48.4% |
| Women among teachers | 54.9% |
| Schools with computers | 69.9% |
| Schools with internet | 67.4% |
| Single-teacher schools | 1,00,843 (down ~3%) |
| Zero-enrolment schools | 5,663 (down 29%) |
| Data released | 17 August 2026 |
What UDISE+ actually is
UDISE+ stands for Unified District Information System for Education Plus. It is run by the Department of School Education & Literacy and has collected school-by-school data every year since 2018–19 — enrolment, teachers, buildings, toilets, computers, and how many children move from one stage to the next. It is the main evidence base the government uses to track NEP 2020, and the same numbers feed state planning and budget decisions. The full tables are published on the official UDISE+ publications page, and district-level figures can be browsed on the UDISE+ dashboard.
The 2025–26 report follows the NEP stage structure rather than the old Class 1–12 grouping. Foundational is roughly ages 3–8, Preparatory Classes 3–5, Middle Classes 6–8, and Secondary Classes 9–12.
Where the system thins out: transition and retention
Transition rates — the share of children moving up to the next stage — stay high: 99.2% from Foundational to Preparatory, 93.8% into Middle, and 88.3% into Secondary. So getting into Class 9 is not the problem for most children.
Staying through it is. Retention falls from 83.7% at Middle to 51.9% at Secondary. The report does not break that figure down by state or by reason, so nobody should read a single cause into it. What it does tell a family is that Classes 9 to 12 are the years where support matters most — and where board-exam pressure, subject choice and cost all land at once. Our Parent Zone collects the guides written for exactly that stretch.
Teachers, classrooms and the gaps that remain
The pupil–teacher ratio improves the younger the stage: 10:1 at Foundational, 12:1 at Preparatory, 17:1 at Middle, 21:1 at Secondary. Single-teacher schools fell about 3% to 1,00,843, and schools with zero enrolment fell 29% to 5,663.
Basic facilities are close to universal — 99.5% of schools report safe drinking water, 98.5% girls’ toilets, 95% electricity, 90.5% a library. Digital access is the weaker column: 69.9% of schools have computers and 67.4% have internet. That means roughly one school in three still has no internet connection, which matters if a syllabus, a sample paper or a scholarship form only exists online. Ramps with handrails are present in 58.2% of schools and rainwater harvesting in 29.9%.
The teacher-availability picture here sits alongside a separate finding this month: a parliamentary panel flagged NCERT textbook delays and CBSE staff vacancies in its report to the Lok Sabha.
Who is in the classroom
Girls make up 48.4% of total enrolment and women 54.9% of all teachers. By social group, OBC students are the largest share at 44.9%, followed by General at 27.5%, Scheduled Castes at 17.7% and Scheduled Tribes at 10% — SC and ST together making up 27.7% of enrolment. Among Children with Special Needs, 57.16% are boys and 42.84% girls.
What this changes for a student or parent right now
Nothing in this report is a deadline or an application. It is a picture of the system, and it is useful in three practical ways.
- Judging a school. The UDISE+ dashboard carries school-level and district-level records. If you are choosing a school, the reported facilities and teacher numbers are a public, checkable starting point.
- Planning Classes 9–12. The retention figure says this is the fragile stretch. Subject choice, a realistic study routine and knowing the board’s own deadlines matter more here than at any earlier stage — our Important Dates calendar tracks the confirmed ones.
- Reading policy news properly. Numbers like PTR and GER get quoted a lot in coverage of school policy — including the recent state-level coaching centre regulations and the CBSE three-language policy. Knowing what they measure makes that coverage easier to judge.
Official sources
Every figure above is taken from the Ministry of Education’s own release: the PIB backgrounder on UDISE+ 2025–26, dated 17 August 2026. The underlying report tables are on the UDISE+ publications page.
Always confirm on the official website before acting.