Elimination of ghost students, methodology change behind enrolment decline: MoE

India's student enrolment dropped by 3.7 million (1.47%) in 2023-24, mainly due to the removal of 'ghost students' and improved data accuracy.

NEW DELHI: The elimination of ‘ghost students,’ who were enrolled in two schools, and the change in the approach to data gathering are the primary reasons behind the drop in student enrolment of over 3.7 million (1.47%) in 2023-24, as reflected in the UDISE (Unified District Information System for Education) Plus data, said an education ministry official on Friday.

Officials said that the change in the data collection approach has helped make the database more accurate (File photo)

According to the UDISE-Plus data released by the education ministry this month, India saw an increase of over 5,000 schools, from 1.466 million in 2022-23 to 1.471 million in 2023-24. However, enrolment of school students has declined by over 3.7 million (1.47%), from 251.7 million to 248 million during the same period.

Officials said that the change in the data collection approach, from a “school-centric” model that was in practice until 2021-22 to a “student-centric” approach for the UDISE-Plus report 2023-24, has helped make the database more accurate.

Sanjay Kumar, secretary of the department of school education and literacy (DoSEL), ministry of education, explained, “Until 2021-22, we were only collecting the number of students in a class. But from 2023-24, we are capturing students by their names, their parents’ names, and addresses. There has been a slight reduction in enrolment numbers, which may have occurred because ‘ghost students’ have been eliminated from the system.”

UDISE Plus is a data aggregation platform maintained by the education ministry to collate school education data from around the country.

Kumar said that based on the information provided by the students, their registry is created in UDISE-Plus, and the system automatically assigns an 11-digit number to every child, known as the Permanent Education Number (PEN). Now, one more digit will be added, making it a 12-digit number called the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) for every child in the education system.

“The APAAR ID needs to be voluntarily linked with the Aadhaar card of the child, and if the child is less than 18, then with the consent of parents. So, the moment you link it with Aadhaar card, you get a real APAAR ID, which gives you access to DigiLocker, where you can store all your academic records and certificates,” he added.

The 12-digit APAAR code will help students digitally store, manage, and access all their academic credits, including scorecards, marksheets, gradesheets, degrees, diplomas, certificates, and co-curricular accomplishments. This ID functions as a permanent digital identity for the student in the education ecosystem.

The education ministry, in a statement, informed that the UDISE Plus 2023-24 report reclassifies the school ecosystem into the new pedagogical and curricular structure of 5+3+3+4, as defined in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. In this structure, children spend five years in the foundational stage, three years in the preparatory stage, three years in the middle stage, and four years in the secondary stage.

The ministry further said that UDISE Plus data shows an improvement in school infrastructure across the country. The percentage of schools with functional computers increased from 47.7% in 2022-23 to 57.2% in 2023-24, and internet access improved from 49.7% to 53.9% in the same period. More than 90% of schools are equipped with basic amenities such as electricity and gender-specific toilets.