Context: NITI Aayog School Education Report
A recent NITI Aayog report titled “School Education System in India: Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement” highlighted low student retention and weak learning outcomes at the secondary level.
Key Findings
- India has around 14.71 lakh schools and 24.69 crore students.
- Nearly 4 out of 10 students drop out before higher secondary level.
- Only 5.4% schools provide continuous education from Class 1–12.
- Around 7,993 schools reported zero enrolment.
- Learning outcomes remain weak: only 45.8% Grade 8 students could solve a basic division problem.
- The report recommended composite schools to reduce dropout rates.
NITI Aayog — Basics
- NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) was established in 2015 replacing the Planning Commission.
- It is the Government’s premier public policy think tank.
- Chairperson: Prime Minister of India.
- Focus areas: policy reforms, SDGs, innovation and cooperative federalism.
Important Reports Published by NITI Aayog
- SDG India Index
- India Innovation Index
- National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)
- School Education Quality Index (SEQI)
- Export Preparedness Index
- Health Index
- State Energy & Climate Index
- Composite Water Management Index
- Electric Vehicle (EV) Adoption Reports
- Strategy for New India @75
