Context:
Ministry of Education releases Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2023-24 Report on School Education.
Key findings of UDISE+ 2023-24:
- Student Enrolments – Records an overall dip in school enrolments across the country, falling from 25.18 crore in 2022-23 to 24.8 crore in 2023-24.
- Dropouts –
- Zero-dropout rate at the foundational level (pre-primary to Class 2) – Mostly due to the admission of students from Anganwadi and standalone private pre-primary schools directly to Class I in recognized schools.
- The maximum dropout rates were at the secondary level (Classes 9 to 12).
- Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra saw the highest drop in enrolments.
- Retention Rate – Higher at the elementary level.
- Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) – There was a minor dip at all levels except at the secondary level.
- GER compares enrolment in a specific level of education to the population of the age group that is age-appropriate for that level of education.
- School Infrastructure – Assam, Odisha, and Karnataka face underutilized infrastructure due to low student-to-school ratios.
UDISE+:
- System of online data collection from schools was developed by the Department of School Education & Literacy in 2018-19 to overcome issues related to the erstwhile practice of manual data filling in paper format.
- Collects information through an online Data Collection Form on parameters ranging from school infrastructure, teachers, enrolments, examination results, etc.
Read more: Fixing the Education system
Source: TH
Previous Year Question
What is the aim of the programme ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2017 Prelims]
(a) Achieving 100% literacy by promoting collaboration between voluntary organizations and government’s education system and local communities.
(b) Connecting institutions of higher education with local communities to address development challenges through appropriate technologies.
(c) Strengthening India’s scientific research institutions in order to make India a scientific and technological power.
(d) Developing human capital by allocating special funds for health care and education of rural and urban poor, and organizing skill development programmes and vocational training for them.
Answer: (b)