Why in News?

Recently, the Union Education Minister released the Report
on United Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2019-20 which depicts
the status of School Education in India.

Major Highlights:

Students:

In 2019-20, total students in school education from
pre-primary to higher secondary have crossed 26.45 crore. This is higher by
42.3 lakh compared to 2018-19.

Gross Enrolment Ratio:

💠 The Gross Enrolment Ratio at all levels of school education
has improved in 2019-20 compared to 2018 19.

• Upper Primary level increased to 89.7% from 87.7%
• Elementary Level increased 97.8% from 96.1%
• Secondary Level increased 77.9%  from 76.9%
• Higher Secondary Level increased 51.4% from 50.1%.

💠 GER for secondary has reached nearly 78% in 2019-20,
compared to 68.7% in 2012-13.
💠 GER for higher secondary has reached 51.4% in 2019-20,
compared to 40.1% in 2012-13.
 

Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR):

In 2019-20, 96.87 lakh teachers have been engaged in school
education. This is higher by about 2.57 lakh compared to 2018-19.
The Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) has improved at all levels of
school education.
 

Divyang students:

To ensure universal accessibility of education for persons
with disabilities, all-out efforts have been made. Enrolment of Divyang
students has increased by 6.52% over 2018-19.
 

Gross Enrolment Ratio of Girls:

💠 In 2019-20, enrolment of girls from primary to higher
secondary is more than 12.08 crore. This is an increase by 14.08 lakh compared
to 2018-19.

• Upper Primary level increased to 90.5% from 88.5%
• Elementary Level increased 98.7% from 96.7%
• Secondary Level increased 77.8% from 76.9%
• Higher Secondary Level increased 52.4% from 50.8%

Gender Parity Index (GPI):

Between 2012-13 and 2019-20, the Gender Parity Index (GPI)
at both Secondary and Higher Secondary levels have improved.
Improvement of GPI has been most pronounced at the higher
secondary level, which has gone up to 1.04 in 2019-20 from 0.97 in 2012-13.

Infrastructure and Other Facilities:

Electricity:

More than 80% schools in India in 2019-20 had functional
electricity. This is an improvement by more than 6% over the previous year
2018-19.

Computer:

Number of schools having functional computers increased to
5.2 lakh in 2019-20 from 4.7 lakh in 2018-19.

Internet:

Number of schools having internet facility increased to 3.36
lakh in 2019-20 from 2.9 lakh in 2018-19.

 Handwash:

More than 90% schools in India had handwash facility in
2019-20. This is a major improvement, as this percentage was only 36.3% in
2012-13.

Medical Check-up:

More than 82% schools conducted medical check-up of students
in 2019-20, an increase by more than 4% compared to previous year 2018-19. In
2012-13, about 61.1% schools conducted medical checkups.

 Library:

More than 84% schools in India had a library/reading room/
reading corner in 2019-20, an improvement of nearly 4% compared to the previous
year. In 2012-13, about 69.2% schools had library/ reading room/ reading
corner.
 

About UDISE+ (United Information System for Education Plus):

To establishment of a well-functioning and Sustainable
Educational Management Information System is of utmost importance today.
Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE)
initiated in 2012-13 integrating DISE for elementary and secondary education.
It covers more than 1.5 million schools, more than 9.6
million teachers and more than 264 million children.
The entire system is now online and has been collecting data
in real-time since 2018-19.