UDISE+ Report Telangana School Enrolment Explained

Why in News?

The Unified District Information System for Education Plus report for 2025-26, released by the Union Education Ministry, shows that Telangana’s school enrolment increased by 2.9% even as the number of schools declined.The report also highlights that girls have outperformed boys in enrolment ratios at every level of education, while teacher availability becomes relatively tighter at the higher secondary stage.

What is UDISE+?

UDISE+ is a national education data platform maintained by the Union Ministry of Education.

It collects school-level data on:

• Enrolment
• Teachers
• Infrastructure
• Dropout rates
• Gender indicators
• Digital facilities
• Basic amenities

It helps governments track the condition of school education and design evidence-based policy interventions.

Key Findings for Telangana

• Telangana had 43,154 schools in 2024-25, which declined to 41,762 schools in 2025-26.
• At the same time, student enrolment increased from 74,57,851 to 76,76,413, marking a rise of 2.9%.
• Teacher numbers also increased from 3,57,911 to 3,70,756.
• This means that the State is educating more students with fewer schools, while also improving teacher availability in absolute numbers.

Enrolment and School Consolidation

• The average enrolment per school increased from 173 students to 184 students.
• This indicates that school consolidation may have reduced the number of schools, but student concentration per school has increased.
• Telangana had earlier recorded 2,245 zero-enrolment schools, one of the highest numbers among States. The latest report places this number at zero, suggesting progress in addressing non-functional or empty schools.
• Single-teacher schools also reduced from 5,001 to 4,793.
• These trends indicate a shift towards better utilisation of school infrastructure, though continued monitoring is needed to ensure that school consolidation does not reduce access for children in remote areas.

Girls’ Enrolment Advantage

• One of the most important findings is that girls have performed better than boys in Gross Enrolment Ratio across all levels.

The Gross Enrolment Ratio for girls stood at:

• 118.4 at primary level
• 112.4 at upper primary level
• 107.9 at secondary level
• 86.3 at higher secondary level

For boys, the corresponding figures were:

• 115.9 at primary level
• 108 at upper primary level
• 102.4 at secondary level
• 77.8 at higher secondary level
• A Gross Enrolment Ratio above 100 generally indicates that students outside the official age group are also enrolled at that level.
• Telangana’s overall enrolment ratios were also far above the national average at primary, elementary, secondary and higher secondary levels.

Dropout and Teacher Availability

• Telangana recorded a secondary-level dropout rate of 5.8%, lower than the national average of 9.5%.

The gender-wise dropout pattern also shows better performance:

• Boys’ dropout rate: 7.2%
• Girls’ dropout rate: 4.3%

Both are lower than national figures.

The State’s pupil-teacher ratio stood at:

• 18 at primary level
• 11 at upper primary level
• 9 at secondary level
• 26 at higher secondary level

The higher secondary level has the highest pupil-teacher ratio among these categories, showing that teacher availability is relatively more stretched at this stage.

Infrastructure and Digital Facilities

• Telangana performs well on basic school infrastructure.Electricity reaches 99.6% of schools, while toilets for both boys and girls are available in more than 95% of schools.
• A striking feature is the reported presence of digital libraries in 92.4% of Telangana schools, compared to the national figure of 7.1%. This wide gap also underlines the need for clarity and uniformity in how digital libraries are defined across States.
• However, sustainability-linked facilities need improvement.
• Only 55.1% of schools have kitchen gardens, and solar panels are available in just 7.1% of schools.
• Aadhaar seeding among enrolled students stands at 94.7%, indicating a high level of digital identity linkage in school records.

Policy Meaning

• The UDISE+ findings show that Telangana has made progress in enrolment, girls’ participation, basic infrastructure and digital facilities.
• However, the State must ensure that school consolidation does not weaken neighbourhood access, especially for rural and disadvantaged children.
• The relatively high pupil-teacher ratio at higher secondary level also requires attention because this stage is crucial for transition to higher education, skill development and employability.
• The next phase of education reform should focus on quality of learning, subject-specific teachers, digital access with actual usage, and sustainability-linked school infrastructure.

Conclusion

The UDISE+ 2025-26 findings present a broadly positive picture of Telangana’s school education system. Higher enrolment despite fewer schools, girls’ stronger participation, lower secondary dropout and improved infrastructure reflect progress in access and governance. The real task now is to convert these gains into better learning outcomes, stronger higher secondary education, equitable school access and future-ready digital education.