Overview of Education Sector in India

The Ministry of Human Resource Development released a draft National Education Policy in July 2016.  In this context, we present some data on education indicators such as enrolment of students, drop-out rates, availability of teachers and share of government and private schools.

Over the years enrolment in class 6 and above is improving  

•  Gross enrolment in classes 1-5 reduced from 114% in 2008-09 to 99% in 2013-14.  The above-100% enrolment rate in 2008-09 indicates that students enrolled in classes 1-5 included those younger than six or older than 10 years.  
   
• In 2013-14, enrolment in classes 1-5 was about 100%, which signals a more age appropriate (six to 10 years) class composition
   
• However, in higher classes, enrolment declined.

Note:  Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is the student enrolment as a proportion of the corresponding eligible age group in a given year.

Enrolment similar to developed countries in classes 1-5, but lower at senior levels

• India’s enrolment rate in primary education is comparable to that of developed countries.  However, India falls behind these countries after class 6. 
   
• For example, enrolment in classes 6-8 is 82% in India compared to 100% in countries such as China, Germany, UK, and USA.
   
• In higher education, India’s enrolment rate stands at about 21% compared to about 62% in UK and Germany, and 95% in USA.  China’s enrolment rate in higher education at 27% is slightly higher than India’s.

90% of students transition from class 5 to class 6, but only 67% from class 10 to 11

Note:  Transition rate is the proportion of students advancing from one class to another.

• Transition rates indicate the proportion of students who are able to advance to a higher class.  A transition rate below 100% indicates that the students are held back or have dropped out of school.
   
• Enrolment rate is about 74% for students in class 10.  Of these, 67% students are able to transition from class 10 to class 11.  Note that transition rate from class 5 to class 6 is 90%.

 More ST and SC students in class 1-8 drop-out of school

Note:  Drop-out rate is the proportion of students who drop-out from a given grade or level of education in a given school year.

• The proportion of students between classes 1-8 who dropped out of school in 2013-14 was 36%.  However, for the ST student population, the drop-out rate was 48%, and for SC students, 39%.
   
• The drop-out rates for all groups declined between 2008-09 and 2013-14.
   
• In 2013-14, the enrolment of girls (97%) was higher than that of boys (93%), while their drop-out rate (33%) is lower than that of boys (39%).  This implies that girls who enter the system between classes 1-8, are more likely to complete elementary education.

Most states have at least 1 teacher for 30 students in classes 9-12

Note:  Pupil - teacher ratio is the average number of pupils (students) per teacher at a specific level of education in a given school‐year.

• The recommended pupil-teacher ratio under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan for classes 9-12 is 30:1.  (One teacher for 30 students).  A higher ratio means there are more students per teacher.
   
• Seven states had a pupil-teacher ratio above the recommended level, including Jharkhand (68:1), Bihar (57:1), Chhattisgarh (45:1), Uttar Pradesh (41:1), Madhya Pradesh (36:1), Gujarat (34:1) and Tripura (33:1).

Till class 12  students attend public schools; college students attend private colleges

• While more students go to government schools than private ones, the trend is reversed in higher education.
   
• Between 2008-09 and 2014-15, the proportion of students in classes 1-8 in government schools declined from 71% to 62%, implying an increasing preference for private schools.