Govt school enrolment drops 86 lakh as private schools gain 88 lakh students: Report

Nearly 86 lakh students have moved out of government schools in just two years. That is the central finding of the UDISE 2025-26 report released by the Ministry of Education on July 7, and it comes alongside data showing that private unaided recognised schools absorbed more than 88 lakh additional students over the same period, signalling a significant and sustained shift in where Indian families are choosing to educate their children.

UDISE, or the Unified District Information System for Education Plus, is the government's official real-time database for tracking school infrastructure, student enrolment, and teacher statistics across the country.

The enrolment numbers

Total school enrolment from the foundational to the secondary level stood at 24.72 crore in 2025-26, a marginal decline from 24.80 crore in 2023-24, a fall of roughly 8.26 lakh overall. But within that aggregate, the divergence between school types is striking.

Government school enrolment dropped from 12.75 crore to 11.89 crore, a fall of 86 lakh. Over the same period, private unaided recognised schools saw their rolls climb from 9 crore to 9.89 crore, adding 89 lakh students.

Other findings from the report

The total number of schools declined slightly from 14.72 lakh to 14.67 lakh, though the teacher workforce grew meaningfully, from 98.08 lakh to 1.03 crore, improving the overall pupil-teacher ratio from 25 to 24. The number of zero-enrolment schools fell sharply from 12,954 to 5,663, and single-teacher schools reduced from 1.11 lakh to 1.01 lakh.

Dropout rates fall, retention improves

Against the backdrop of the enrolment shift, the report also documents consistent improvements in student retention. "The academic year 2025-26 has seen a notable reduction in dropout rates across preparatory and secondary levels as compared to the previous years, 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25. At the preparatory level, the dropout rate declined from 2.3 per cent in 2024-25 to 1.8 per cent in 2025-26, and at the secondary level from 8.2 per cent to 7.0 per cent," the report said.

Retention rates also moved in a positive direction at the middle and secondary levels. At the middle level, retention rose from 82.8% in 2024-25 to 83.7% in 2025-26. At the secondary level, the improvement was more pronounced, from 47.2% to 51.9% over the same period.

"This downward trend highlights improved student retention and reflects the success of initiatives aimed at keeping children engaged in their education. The consistent decrease across all levels suggests that schools are becoming more supportive and responsive to students' needs," the report added.