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NITI Aayog report on school education system

May 16 , 2026 11 hrs 0 min 91 0

NITI Aayog released a policy report titled ‘School Education System in India: Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement’.
It is a policy document that presents a comprehensive, decade-long analysis of India's School Education System across key parameters such as access and enrolment, infrastructure, equity and inclusion, and learning outcomes.
It draws on secondary data from UDISE+ 2024-25, PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, NAS 2017 and 2021, and ASER 2024.
India's school education system today spans 14.71 lakh schools, serving over 24.69 crore students, making it the largest system in the world.
While there are about 7.3 lakh primary schools, there are only around 1.64 lakh higher secondary schools.
Four out of every 10 children who enter the system drop out before completing higher secondary education.
It means only 5.4% of schools offer a continuous journey from Grade 1 to 12.
Close to 7,993 schools across the country reported zero student enrolment.
The highest numbers were seen in West Bengal (3,812) and Telangana (2,245).
The report recommends ‘Cylindrical’ Schooling to fix the “leaky pipeline” of student dropouts, which involves creating composite schools that cover Grades 1-12 under one roof.
The report highlights that, according to UDISE+ 2024-25, 1.19 lakh schools lack access to functional electricity.
Access to water and hygiene facilities is also inconsistent.
The share of schools with drinking water facilities has increased from 96.5% in 2014 to 99% in 2025, but 14,505 schools still lack functional water sources, and nearly 59,829 lack hand-washing facilities, compromising student health and hygiene.
Improving learning outcomes in children and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are challenges that need to be tackled in the school education system.
The report points to the fact that the Right to Education Act ends at age 14, leaving families to bear the costs of tuition, books, and transport for older children.
The report noted that India’s current 4.6% GDP allocation to education remains below the 6% target first recommended in 1964.