The Union Ministry of Education released the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2025-26 report on Tuesday, revealing significant improvements in teacher strength, student retention, digital infrastructure, and school facilities across India. Dropout rates continued to decline at key educational stages.
Why UDISE+ Matters for Chandigarh Residents
The UDISE+ report serves as the data backbone determining which schools receive teachers, grants, infrastructure funds, and welfare scheme benefits. This data feeds into the Performance Grading Index (PGI), where Chandigarh has topped the country for four consecutive years. Every parent, teacher, and student in the Union Territory's government and private schools is a data point in this report, with trends in teacher availability, dropout rates, and digital access shaping the classroom experience for lakhs of children across the city.
Report Preparation and Responsibility
Prepared by the Department of School Education and Literacy under the Ministry of Education, the report relies on data uploaded by schools through their UDISE+ codes. Introduced in 2018-19, this online system replaced manual data collection to enhance accuracy and enable real-time reporting. In Chandigarh, the Education Secretary and the office of the Director School Education (DSE) ensure local schools file accurate and timely data into the portal.
National Data Highlights
The number of teachers increased to 1,02,73,020 in 2025-26 from 94,83,294 in 2022-23, an 8.3% rise. The pupil-teacher ratio improved to 10 at the foundational level, 12 at preparatory, 17 at middle, and 21 at secondary, all better than the National Education Policy's recommended 30:1 ratio. Dropout rates fell from 2.3% to 1.8% at preparatory level and from 8.2% to 7% at secondary level. Retention rates rose to 83.7% at middle stage and 51.9% at secondary stage, credited to expansion of secondary-level schools. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at secondary level increased from 68.5% in 2024-25 to 71.7% in 2025-26. Single-teacher schools declined to 1,00,843, about 3% lower than previous year, while zero-enrolment schools dropped by around 29% to 5,663. Women now comprise 54.9% of the teaching workforce, up from 54.2%, and girls' enrolment edged up to 48.4%.
Chandigarh's Performance in 2024-25
While UT-wise figures for 2025-26 are pending, last year's UDISE+ report showed Chandigarh with a secondary-level GER of 110.1%, among the highest nationally, well ahead of states like Bihar (51.1%). The UT also had near-universal digital infrastructure in schools, on par with Delhi and Goa, and one of the highest rates of Aadhaar-seeding for students at 98.5%, aiding accurate tracking and benefit delivery.
Next Steps and Monitoring
The Ministry typically follows the national release with a detailed report containing state and UT-wise break-ups, including schools, enrolment, teachers, and infrastructure indicators district-by-district. This data will reveal how Chandigarh has moved on PTR, dropout rates, GER, and digital access, and whether the UT has maintained or improved its standing.
Persistent Concerns and Local Focus
Officials and analysts tracking UDISE+ trends have flagged persistent national concerns: declining overall enrolment numbers, a fall in the number of schools, and structural imbalances between primary and secondary school availability in several states. For a small, dense UT like Chandigarh, the local task is ensuring momentum behind its PGI-topping performance in teacher recruitment, ICT labs, vocational training, and inclusive education continues to translate into granular data captured by this report.
How Residents Can Access Data
Reports and dashboards are available at udiseplus.gov.in and dashboard.udiseplus.gov.in. The detailed report, once released, is typically hosted on education.gov.in. Parents and school administrators can check individual school-level data including enrolment, facilities, and teacher count through the UDISE+ portal using the school's UDISE code.
Summary for Chandigarh Residents
For Chandigarh's residents, this report signifies a direction of travel: fewer dropouts, better teacher ratios, and rising digital access nationally, against which Chandigarh has consistently positioned itself as a national leader through its PGI record. The 2025-26 UT-specific figures, once released, will show whether that lead has widened or requires reinforcement.
