A recent policy report on school education in India by NITI Aayog has highlighted significant challenges in Uttar Pradesh's schooling system. Out of 2,62,358 institutions in the state, only 7,610 schools, representing a mere 2.9%, provide uninterrupted education from primary to higher secondary classes. This is substantially lower than the national average of 5.4% for integrated schools.
Fragmented School Structure and Dropout Risks
The report emphasizes that the fragmented school structure forces students to change institutions at key academic stages, increasing transition gaps and the risk of dropping out. It states, "This fragmented progression structure compels students to change institutions multiple times, which contributes to transition inefficiencies and increases the risk of dropout."
State-wise Performance on Integrated Schooling
Rajasthan emerged as the top performer, with nearly 26% of its schools offering uninterrupted classes I to XII. The state has 27,889 integrated schools, accounting for about 35% of all such schools in the country. Haryana followed with around 16% of schools providing integrated education, while Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra reported 7.7% and 7.2%, respectively. Bihar (1.40%) and West Bengal (0.91%) ranked below Uttar Pradesh.
Institutional Structure in Uttar Pradesh
The report points to a heavily skewed institutional structure in Uttar Pradesh, with a disproportionate concentration of schools at the foundational stage. Of the state's schools, nearly 1.35 lakh are primary-only institutions, and another 52,000 schools provide education only up to classes I to VIII. However, the number of institutions drops sharply at secondary and higher secondary stages, creating a bottleneck in student progression. Uttar Pradesh has only 12,164 upper primary-to-higher secondary institutions catering to classes VI to XII.
Dropout Rates: Mixed Picture
The state presents a mixed picture on school dropout rates across educational levels. At the primary level, dropout rates have dramatically improved from 7.09% in 2014-15 to virtually 0% in 2024-25, placing Uttar Pradesh among the large states that have nearly achieved universal retention in early schooling. However, the trend reverses at the upper-primary stage, where dropout rates rose sharply from 0.52% to 3.0% over the decade, indicating growing challenges as students transition into higher classes. The report notes that this stage often sees increased attrition due to household responsibilities, transition pressures, and lack of school continuity. At the secondary level, dropout rates have remained around 10%, reflecting sustained difficulties in retaining students through classes IX and X despite improvements seen in several other states.
Enrolment Trends and Gross Enrolment Ratio
The enrolment trends highlighted in the report present another major concern. Uttar Pradesh's Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at the primary level fell sharply from 112% in 2014-15 to 83.1% in 2024-25, among the steepest declines recorded nationally. The girls' GER at the upper-primary stage stood at 86.3%, lower than the national average of 92.3%.
A senior state education official explained, "A GER below 100% indicates that many children in the eligible age group are either out of school or not enrolled at the appropriate level. Factors such as migration, dropouts, and fragmented schooling infrastructure contribute to the decline. However, the recent age-bar criteria has also impacted the enrolment ratio to some extent."
Experts note that GER can exceed 100% because it counts all enrolled students, including overage, underage, and repeat students, against the official school-age population for that level of education. States with higher enrolment participation and larger numbers of overage or returning students often report GER figures above 100%.
Other low-performing states in primary GER included Madhya Pradesh (76.3%), Bihar (77.2%), and Gujarat (79.6%), while India's overall primary GER stood at 90.9%. In contrast, Meghalaya (180.7%), Manipur (140.5%), Mizoram (138%), Telangana (114%), and Uttarakhand (109.9%) remained significantly above the national average.
Digital Infrastructure Gaps
The report also flagged major gaps in digital infrastructure across schools in Uttar Pradesh. Only 19.8% of schools in the state have functional smart classrooms, placing Uttar Pradesh among the country's poorest-performing states in technology-enabled learning infrastructure. Meghalaya (4.3%), West Bengal (5.7%), Mizoram (11.3%), Jharkhand (14.8%), and Bihar (14.9%) were also among the bottom performers.
By comparison, Chandigarh has recorded the highest smart classroom coverage at 95.2%, followed by Punjab (80.1%), Delhi (75.7%), and Puducherry (72.5%), reflecting significantly stronger digital integration in classrooms.
Teacher Shortages and Single-Teacher Schools
The report further identified teacher shortages and uneven teacher deployment as a major structural challenge in Uttar Pradesh's school system, particularly in rural and under-enrolled schools. According to UDISE+ 2024-25 data cited in the report, Uttar Pradesh has 9,508 single-teacher schools enrolling nearly 6.24 lakh students, among the highest such numbers in the country.
The report noted that single-teacher schools significantly affect classroom learning, as one teacher is often required to manage multiple grades simultaneously while also handling administrative work, mid-day meals, record-keeping, and parent coordination, limiting individual student attention and age-appropriate instruction.
