n Despite the Centre making all round efforts for augmentation of primary and secondary education, more than 20,000 schools were shut down across the country during 2020-21 while the number of teachers too declined by 1.95 per cent in comparison to the previous year.
But, simultaneously, according to the new report by the Ministry of Education, the gross enrolment ratio across primary, upper primary and higher secondary school education levels in the country saw an increase in 2021-22 compared to 2020-21 despite a drop in admissions in pre-primary sections due to Covid-19. The ratio compares the enrolment at a specific level of education to the population of the age-group that is most age-appropriate for that level.
The number of schools in 2021-22 was 14.89 lakh as compared to 15.09 lakh in 2020-21. The decline is mainly due to closure of private and other management schools and grouping and clustering of schools by various states, the report stated. According to the MoE commissioned Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report In 2021-22, enrolment of students in school education from primary to higher secondary was around 25.57 crore. This is higher by 19.36 lakh as compared to the enrolment of students in 2020-21, the report said.
Detailing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on enrolment, the report said, "Although the impact of Covid-19 is cross-cutting, this is particularly noticed in the enrolment of young and vulnerable kids like pre-primary classes. This decline may be attributed to postponement of admissions due to Covid-19".
According to the report, the total number of teachers also declined by 1.95 per cent in 2021-22 compared to 2020-21. The total number of teachers in 2021-22 was 95.07 lakh, decreasing from 97.87 lakh in 2020-21, it said. "The percentage of teachers teaching only primary (34.4 pc in 2021-22 from 35.4m pc in 2020-21) and only upper primary (18.9 pc in 2021-22 from 21.5 pc in 2020-21) has reduced. The decrease in teachers during 2021-22 as against previous year was 0.9 pc in government schools, 1.45 pc in government aided schools, 2.94 pc in private schools and 8.3 pc in other schools, it said.
In UDISE+ 2021-22, additional data on important indicators such as digital library, peer learning, hard spot identification, number of books available in school library, etc have been collected for the first time to align with the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 initiatives.
The UDISE+ report 22 also pointed out that only 44.85 per cent schools had computer facilities while nearly 34 per cent had internet connection. "Total number of schools in 2021-22 stood at 14.89 lakhs as compared to 15.09 lakhs in 2020-21. The decline in total schools is mainly due to closure of schools under private and other management," said the report launched on Thursday.
While only 27 per cent schools have special toilets for children with special needs (CSWN), over 49 per cent of them have ramps with handrails, it said.
The report further highlighted six states and one Union territory have attained the best rating of Level 2 (L2) in the Union education ministry's Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2020-21, a unique index for evidence-based comprehensive analysis of the school education system.
No state, however, has been able to attain the highest level of L1 so far. The seven states/UTs which have received L2 are Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh are the new entrants to L2 level.
The newly formed UT, Ladakh has made significant improvement in PGI from Level 8 to Level 4 in 2020-21 or improved its score by 299 points in 2020-21 as compared to 2019-20, resulting in highest ever improvement in a single year. The UDISE+ stated that the total students enrolled in schools from primary to higher secondary was 25.57 crore as compared to 25.38 crore in 2020-21.
The enrolment of students in pre-primary to higher secondary increased by 7.85 lakh in 2021-22 as compared to 2020-21, it stated, adding that enrolment, however, in pre-primary sections of schools dropped by 11.5 lakh.
Though the impact of the pandemic is at all levels, "this is particularly noticed in the enrolment of young and vulnerable kids like pre-primary classes may be attributed to postponement of admissions due to Covid-19", the report stated. "Notably, GER (gross enrolment ratio) in higher secondary has made significant improvement from 53.8 per cent in 2021-21 to 57.6 per cent in 2021-22," it stated.
Enrolment of children with special needs in 2021-22 was 22.67 lakh as compared to 21.91 lakh in 2020-21, an improvement of 3.45 per cent. The report also stated that 95.07 lakh teachers were engaged in school education in 2021-22, out of which over 51 per cent were women.
"In 2021-22, the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) was 26 for primary, 19 for upper primary, 18 for secondary and 27 for higher secondary, showing an improvement since 2018-19. The PTR for primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary was 28, 19, 21 and 30, respectively, during 2018-19," the report stated.