Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of schoolchildren at primary, upper primary and higher secondary levels in India has improved in 2021-22 compared to the previous year, the latest edition of Education Ministry’s UDISE+ report (Unified District Information System for Education Plus) shows.
Uttar Pradesh has witnessed highest enrollment of students in government schools and recruitment of teachers, Union Education Ministry said in a press statement related to the UDISE+ report 2021-22.
In 2021-22 total students enrolled from primary to higher secondary levels stood at 25.57 crore while it was 25.38 crore in 2020-21, and it is an increase of 19.36 lakh, the ministry has informed.
“Total number of Scheduled caste enrollment increased to 4.82 Crore in 2021-22 as compared to 4.78 Crore in 2020-21. Similarly, total Scheduled Tribe enrollment increased to 2.51 crore in 2021-22 from 2.49 crore in 2020-21. Total other backward students also increased to 11.48 crore in 2021-22 from 11.35 crore in 2020-21,” an official statement said.
GER in higher secondary has made significant improvement from 53.8% in 2021-21 to 57.6% in 2021-22, it added.
The ministry further said enrollment of Children with Special Needs (CWSN) in 2021-22 is at 22.67 lakh as compared to 21.91 lakh in 2020-21, an improvement of 3.45% compared to the previous year.
“In 2021-22 over 12.29 crore girls are enrolled in primary to higher secondary showing an increase of 8.19 lakh compare to the enrollment of girls in 2020-21. The Gender Parity Index (GPI) of GER shows the representation of females in school education is in line with representation of girls in population of corresponding age group. The GPI value at all level of school education are one or more implying more participation of girls in the school education,” as per the official release.
The number of schools in the country saw a decline – 14.89 lakh in 2021-22 from 15.09 lakh in 2020-21. This is mainly due to closure of private and other management schools, grouping/clustering of schools in different states, according to the ministry.