Data published by the Education Ministry, the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) has shown a major decline in school enrolment among the 3-11 age-group in India during the academic year 2024-25. This covers children in anganwadi, pre-school and Classes 1 to 5. The overall enrolment in this category has gone down by almost 25 lakh students, which was 12.09 crore in 2023-24 to 11.84 crore in 2024-25.
Key Points
Decline in Enrolment for 3-11 Age Group:
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The 3-11 age bracket registered a reduction of 24.93 lakh students as it fell by 12.09 crore in 2023-24 to 11.84 crore in 2024-25.
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There was also a declining trend in total school enrolment (Classes 1 to 12): in 2023-24, the highest level of 24.8 crore dropped to 24.69 crore in 2024-25, the lowest enrolment since 2018-19.
Effects of dropping birth rates:
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A decline in the birth rates in India with fertility rates below replacement in most states has helped to reduce the number of children in the primary school-age population.
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The National Family Health Survey 2021 gave a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.91 children per woman in India, lower than the replacement rate of 2.1.
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There are still states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Meghalaya whose fertility rates are above the replacement rates and hence to some extent the reason behind the higher enrolment rates.
Changes in Enrolment Trends:
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Classes 6-8 enrolment rose by 6 lakh, as compared to 6.31 crore in 2023-24 and 6.36 crore in 2024-25.
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Likewise, there were also increases in enrolment in Classes 9-12, by 8 lakh students, as 6.39 crore in 2023-24 to 6.48 crore in 2024-25.
Improvement in Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER):
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The middle school (Classes 6-8) Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) increased to 90.3% in the year 2024-25 compared with 89.5% in the year 2023-24.
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In the case of secondary school (Classes 9-12), GER improved to 68.5% in 2024-25 compared to 66.5% in 2023-24, which indicates an optimistic result of the enrolment of students in higher classes.
Dropout Rates Declining:
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The dropouts have decreased in the different levels of education:
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Preparatory stages (Class 1-5): Preparatory: In 2023-24, the rate of dropout was 3.7% and in 2024-25, it was 2.3%.
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Middle school (Classes 6-8): The dropout rate dropped to 3.5% (as compared to 5.2%).
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Classes 9-12): There was a reduction of dropout rate during secondary school period which was 10.9% to 8.2%.
Conclusion:
The age group of 3-11 years has a decline in school enrolment due to the demographic changes particularly the low birth rate in India. Nevertheless, higher class enrolment and GER and dropout rate improvements are on a positive trend, indicating that the education system retains students better. On the one hand, the general enrolment numbers are decreasing, but the growing student enrolment in upper classes as well as the growing Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) point to the consistent emphasis on enhancing the education outcomes.
