UDISE+ stands for Unified District Information System for Education Plus.
It is India’s national digital platform for collecting school education data. It records information on schools, students, teachers, infrastructure, enrolment, facilities and learning-related indicators.
UDISE+ is maintained by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education. It replaced the earlier paper-based UDISE system with an online, real-time and more structured data collection system.
Each school is given a unique UDISE code, which works like an identity number for that school.
What It Covers
UDISE+ collects data from schools across India, including government, government-aided, private and other recognised schools.
It records information on:
• Number of schools
• Student enrolment
• Teachers
• Gender-wise enrolment
• School infrastructure
• Toilets, drinking water and electricity
• ICT facilities and internet access
• Libraries and playgrounds
• Dropout and transition indicators
• Management type of schools
• Level of education from pre-primary to higher secondary
This makes UDISE+ one of the most important databases for school education planning in India.
Latest Data
According to UDISE+ 2024-25, India’s school education system serves 24.69 crore students across 14.71 lakh schools, supported by over 1.01 crore teachers. This makes India one of the largest school education systems in the world.
The 2024-25 report also shows improvement in Gross Enrolment Ratio at higher school levels. The Middle level GER increased from 89.5% in 2023-24 to 90.3% in 2024-25, while the Secondary level GER increased from 66.5% to 68.5%.
This data is important because India’s education policy under NEP 2020 aims to achieve universal access and improve retention up to secondary level.
Importance
UDISE+ helps governments understand the real condition of schools. Without reliable data, planning for teachers, classrooms, toilets, digital infrastructure, scholarships and learning support becomes difficult.
It is useful for:
• Planning school infrastructure
• Tracking enrolment and dropout
• Identifying teacher shortages
• Monitoring gender gaps
• Supporting Samagra Shiksha
• Tracking NEP 2020 goals
• Comparing state-level performance
• Improving evidence-based policymaking
For example, if UDISE+ data shows poor internet access or teacher shortage in a district, the government can target resources more accurately.
Link with Policy
UDISE+ is closely linked with school education schemes and governance.
It supports planning under Samagra Shiksha, which covers school education from pre-school to Class 12. It also helps monitor progress under the National Education Policy 2020, especially goals related to access, equity, infrastructure and enrolment.
UDISE+ data is also used in reports, dashboards and state-level education planning. It helps policymakers track whether schools have basic facilities and whether children are moving from one level of schooling to the next.
Concerns
The biggest concern with UDISE+ is data quality. Since data is uploaded by schools and verified through administrative channels, errors can occur if schools enter incorrect or incomplete information.
Another concern is that infrastructure data alone does not show learning quality. A school may have classrooms, toilets and electricity, but students may still face poor learning outcomes.
Major concerns include:
• Data accuracy
• Over-reporting or under-reporting
• Uneven verification across states
• Limited reflection of learning outcomes
• Digital capacity gaps in schools
• Delay in correction of school-level data
Therefore, UDISE+ should be read along with learning surveys, field inspections, NAS data, ASER-type evidence and state-level reviews.
Relevance
UDISE+ is important because education governance increasingly depends on data. It helps identify gaps in access, infrastructure, teachers and enrolment.
For better use of UDISE+, India needs:
• Stronger school-level data verification
• Training of school staff for accurate entry
• Integration with learning outcome data
• Public dashboards for transparency
• Use of data for district-level planning
• Regular correction and updating of records
The platform should not become only a data-entry exercise. Its real value lies in using the data to improve schools.
Conclusion
UDISE+ is India’s main school education data platform. It is essential for planning, monitoring and improving school education, but its usefulness depends on accurate data, proper verification and linking infrastructure data with actual learning outcomes.
