NITI Aayog Releases Comprehensive Roadmap for Quality Enhancement in School Education System

NITI Aayog recently released a comprehensive report titled "School Education System in India: A Time-Series Analysis and Policy Framework for Quality Enhancement." This report focuses on the current status of India's school education system, the changes that have occurred over the years, and measures to improve the quality of education. According to the report, India possesses one of the largest school education systems in the world, comprising millions of students and hundreds of thousands of schools. The study draws upon various national educational surveys and government statistics.

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¨     The report undertakes a longitudinal assessment of India’s school education system over a decade and proposes a policy roadmap aligned with the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.

¨     It examines the performance of school education 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.

¨     This Report reviews the present state of the system, identifies the challenges that must be addressed, and recommends policy interventions and an implementation roadmap to achieve the vision of achieving universal access, raising learning standards, and ensuring equity across all stages of schooling.

Present State of School Education in India

Scale and Access

¨     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.

¨     Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at the elementary stage remains high (90.9%), but participation drops at the secondary (78.7%) and higher secondary (58.4%) levels.

Improvement in Infrastructure

Significant improvements have been recorded in basic school infrastructure

¨     over 97% schools have drinking water facilities,

¨     more than 96% schools have separate toilets for girls, and

¨     Electricity access has improved substantially across government schools.

Availability of ICT infrastructure, internet connectivity, and smart classrooms has also improved over the past decade, though regional disparities remain significant.

Equity and Inclusion

¨  Gender Parity Index (GPI) has improved across most stages of education, indicating greater participation of girls in schooling.

¨  Enrolment of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) has increased steadily, particularly at elementary levels.

Government vs Private Schooling Trends

¨     The report notes a gradual decline in enrolment in government schools and an increasing preference for private institutions in many states.

¨     Government school enrolment declined from around 71% in 2005 to nearly 49% in 2024–25.

Learning Outcomes Remain Weak

Despite progress in access and infrastructure, learning outcomes remain a major concern

¨   ASER 2024 found that only about 27% of Grade 3 students could read a Grade 2-level text.

¨     Only around 31% of Grade 5 students could solve a basic division problem.

¨     Performance in mathematics and higher-order reasoning remains particularly weak across several states.