New Delhi, Dec 17: Over the last decade, India's school education landscape has witnessed unprecedented growth and transformation under this government’s leadership, stated Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, while addressing a press conference in New Delhi today.
From robust improvements in school infrastructure and digital inclusion to empowering Nari Shakti and promoting Bharatiya languages, every initiative has been driven by a commitment to quality, equity, and holistic development, he added.
Pradhan highlighted that we stand at a pivotal juncture where our schools are not only centers of learning but also enablers of opportunity, skill, and empowerment for every child in the country.
The highlights of this progress are as follows:
1. Growth of School Infrastructure (2013-14 to 2023-24)
The government's efforts have led to significant improvements in school infrastructure:
Electricity availability increased from 53% to 91.8%.
Access to computers improved from 24.1% to 57.2%, and internet facilities rose from 7.3% to 53.9%.
Drinking water access went up from 83.2% to 98.3%, while handwashing facilities jumped from 43.1% to 94.7%.
Availability of playgrounds rose from 66.9% to 82.4%.
Library facilities expanded from 76.4% to 89%.
Provision of ramps grew from 56.8% to 77.1%, and handrails increased from 33.9% to 52.3%.
Rainwater harvesting facilities saw a major boost from 4.2% to 28.4%.
2. Increased Investment in Education
The per-child expenditure incurred by the government has grown by more than 130%, rising from ₹10,780 in 2013-14 to ₹25,043 in 2021-22.
3. Focus on Bharatiya Bhasha
The government has prioritized linguistic diversity:
Textbooks for Classes 1 and 2 are now available in 23 Indian languages.
Multilingual e-content has been developed in 126 Indian languages and 7 foreign languages on the DIKSHA platform.
A total of 104 primers in Indian languages have been released.
Dedicated educational channels have been launched:
A Tamil language channel on 29th July 2024.
ULLAS channel for adult education on 8th September 2024.
A channel for hearing-impaired learners in Indian Sign Language (ISL) under the PM e-Vidya initiative on 6th December 2024.
4. Improvement in Student Performance
There has been a significant rise in the performance of students in board exams:
A 64% increase in students scoring higher grades in Class X.
A 66% increase in students performing better in Class XII.
5. Nari Shakti in School Education
Women have emerged as a driving force in education:
The number of female teachers has grown by over 30% since 2014.
Over 61% of teachers recruited between 2014 and 2024 are women.
Female teachers now significantly outnumber male teachers.
6. Quality and Equity in KVS/NVS
Representation of rural students in Navodaya Vidyalayas has increased from 78% in 2014 to 90% in 2024.
OBC reservation of 27% was introduced in 2021, with representation reaching 38.83% in NVS and 29.33% in KVS by 2024.
The number of KVs and NVs has grown from 1,701 to 1,943 schools.
Academic success:
More than 45,000 students qualified for NEET.
Over 10,000 students cleared IIT-JEE Mains, with 2,000+ students securing admission into IITs.
Notably, 19,154 NEET qualifiers and 4,325 JEE Mains qualifiers from NVS achieved success without external coaching.
7. Growth of CBSE Schools
The number of CBSE-affiliated schools has more than doubled, increasing from 14,974 in 2014 to 30,415 in 2024.
8. Mainstreaming Skill Education
Vocational education has been expanded significantly:
Schools offering vocational courses have risen from 960 in 2014 to 29,342 in 2024.
Student enrolment in skill education has surged from 58,720 in 2014 to over 30.8 lakh in 2024.
9. IT-Enabled Transparency
The government has brought digital reforms to school management:
Admissions, transfers, and CBSE affiliation processes are now fully online.
KVS, NVS, and CBSE are operating on 100% e-office platforms.
10. New Bharat-Centric Textbooks under NCF
The development of competency-based, inclusive textbooks has progressed rapidly:
New textbooks have been made available for 7 out of 15 grades, with textbooks coming out for 4 more grades in the next academic year.
Textbooks for Arts, Physical Education, and Well-being (Grades 3–8) and for Vocational Education (Grades 6–8) are being developed.
NCERT’s annual textbook printing has expanded from 5 crore to 15 crore books to meet demand.
Textbooks are being prepared in all scheduled Indian languages and made accessible via online platforms.
11. PM POSHAN Scheme
The Central government’s investment in PM POSHAN has grown significantly:
Over ₹1.04 lakh crore was allocated from 2014–2024, compared to ₹71,525 crore in the previous decade.
Material cost for meals was revised upwards by 13.7% from Rs. 5.45 to Rs. 6.19 for Primary and Balvatika classes. And from Rs. 8.17 to Rs. 9.29 for Upper Primary classes, with effect from 01.12.24.
The Central Government will bear the additional cost of Rs. 425.62 Cr. in FY 24-25 on account of this enhancement.
12. Data-Driven Decision Making
Technology is enabling targeted interventions and improved learning outcomes:
32 Vidya Samiksha Kendras have been established, with 24 integrated with the Rashtriya VSK at NCERT. In addition, there is a VSK setup at CBSE.
More than 7 crore APAAR IDs (Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry) have been generated and validated, ensuring unique tracking of student progress.
The PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan was conducted on 4th December 2024, covering approx. 23 lakh students across 87,619 schools.
