Data on various aspects of education is critical as it informs decision-making, highlights disparities, and tracks progress over time. It also enables policymakers to plan effectively, allocate resources efficiently, and enhance administration and management. We provide a brief overview of the evolution of education statistics published by the government, the current state of education statistics and the areas that need improvement.
Education is vital for national development. Not only does it build a skilled workforce, but it also helps the alleviation of poverty by providing livelihood and boosting the economy. Moreover, educated citizens are more likely to participate in civic activities and drive innovation. Additionally, education contributes to improved health and well-being in society and can lead to lower crime rates.
It is for these reasons that data on various aspects of education is critical. It informs decision-making, highlights disparities, and tracks progress over time. This information enables policymakers to plan effectively, allocate resources efficiently, and enhance administration and management. Additionally, reliable data is essential for conducting research, ensuring accountability, and ultimately improving educational outcomes.
In this story, we provide a brief overview of the evolution of education statistics published by the government, the current state of education statistics and the areas that need improvement.
Education data landscape has improved since the independence
Over the years, along with the growing recognition of education’s role in socio-economic planning, the quality and scope of education statistics in the country have improved, including their collection, and methodology. Recognizing the importance of comprehensive data on education, the government has made efforts to ensure its availability ever since India became an independent country.
Even though quinquennial reports were published by the British prior to 1947, educational statistics in India were first collected for the year 1949-50. A statistical unit was established at the national level, and similar units were set up in the states, primarily within their Departments of Education. The Ministry of Education ran a training scheme for the staff of these statistical units in state governments and universities.
The Government of India published three key reports annually:
Education in India (in two volumes)
Education in the States, and
Education in Indian Universities.
It also issued a biennial Directory of Institutions of Higher Education, which started as an annual publication. In parallel, the government began producing educational journals, and since 1961, the annual Indian Year Book on Education was compiled and published.
In 1981, the government constituted a high-level committee to review educational statistics under the chairmanship of the then Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Education. The committee submitted its report in 1982. The committee came up with a list of recommendations including those to reduce the time lag, increase quality, data collection methods, and improvement in format.
2007 committee made around 120 recommendations, relevant even today
Later, the government appointed a Review Committee on Educational Statistics, chaired by S. Sathyam in 2007, and an Expert Group led by R. Govinda in 2011 to further enhance the education management information system. The Sathyam committee report came up with around 120 recommendations spread across three sections- General, School Education, Adult Education and, Literacy and Higher Education, which aim to improve the database for the entire education sector. It is as per their recommendations, both the District Information System for Education (DISE) and the School Education Management Information System (SEMIS) were merged to create the Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE), which has been implemented since the 2012-13 academic year.
Seven Broad Categories of Education data available in the public domain
From seats to results, infrastructure to finance, the Indian government has made a wide array of education data available in the public domain through various agencies and organizations. For convenience, we have broadly categorized this data into seven categories. Within each category, we outline the available data and publications, as well as the agencies responsible for them. The link given is to the datasets available on Dataful wherever available.
1. Demographic Data
All these data sources are from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) and provide information such as literacy rates by gender, age group, state/region, rural-urban divide, and education level achieved.
Census: Provides decadal data on literacy rates and basic education statistics across demographics.
National Sample Survey Office (NSSO): Carries out periodic surveys on literacy levels and household educational attainment.
Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS): Includes data on literacy rates and educational qualifications linked to the labour force.
2. Enrolment and Attendance
These dashboards provide data on school enrolments, dropout rates, gender distribution, and attendance rates. The data referred to in the Economic Survey is from these two dashboards.
Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+): Covers school-level data from primary to higher secondary levels.
All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE): Collects data on higher education institutions, covering enrolment, faculty, courses, and financial resources.
Medical colleges and seats in under-graduation and post-graduation.
Indian students going abroad for higher education: Based on information provided by the External Affairs Ministry in the parliament, data on students going abroad for higher education and the details regarding the educational loans availed by them are also available. Likewise, data is also available on the number of Indian students going to US for education.
Additionally, there is data on admissions to IITs on Dataful. Multiple RTIs were filed and compiled to gather data on admissions to each IIT by gender, community, and programme. Data has also been collated on placements in IITs.
3. Academic Performance, Learning Outcomes and Performance Metrics
Results of Secondary and Higher Secondary Examinations: Published by the Ministry of Education, these datasets provide information on the number of students that appeared and passed secondary and higher secondary examinations by board of study, gender, and caste.
National Achievement Survey (NAS): In this survey, scores are given to students from different classes in subjects like language, math, and science.
State and District-wise Performance Grading Index (PGI): A framework by the Ministry of Education that evaluates and grades states on five key domains—learning outcomes, access, infrastructure, equity, and governance.
National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF): Ranks institutions based on parameters such as teaching, learning resources, research, and professional practices. It provides data on admissions, graduations, placements, financial expenditures, profits, research projects, funding sources, and faculty qualifications.
Results of competitive examinations such as NEET, UPSC, etc published by the designated authorities.
School Education Quality Index (SEQI): Developed by NITI Aayog, the framework is used to evaluate and enhance the performance of States in the school education sector, focusing on outcomes and governance processes.
CSIR: Provides data on research publications, patents, and copyrights.
4. Infrastructure and Facilities
UDISE+ provides detailed information on physical infrastructure in schools, including classrooms, electricity, internet, and sanitation. Similarly, AISHE provides information on higher education infrastructure details, including libraries, labs, hostels, and ICT facilities.
These two sources also provide data on teachers and faculty available.
5. Financial Data and Expenditure on Education
Ministry of Education: Annual budget and financial reports on allocations and spending.
State Education Departments: Publish data on state-level education expenditure.
University Grants Commission: Grants released by UGC to universities.
National Scholarship Portal (NSP): Data on central and state scholarships, beneficiary details, and disbursements is available.
6. Employment and Placement
As noted earlier, some information on placement and employment is provided in the PLFS report, and NIRF reports, among others.
7. Literacy, Adult Education, and Special Needs Education
Data on students with special needs and facilities provided for inclusive education is provided by UDISE+.
Progress reports, research papers, and parliament answers on schemes such as the National Literacy Mission, Sakshar Bharath, etc. provide some information on adult education in the country.
What about Data Gaps?
Apart from these, for historical data, one can refer to the publications such as Statistics of School Education, Education in India, and Educational Statistics at a glance, although the government has stopped their publication. Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) reports, Standing Committee reports, and Parliament Answers are other key sources of such data. However, these are not released periodically.
While there has been considerable improvement in India’s education data landscape, there are some areas that need focus. For instance, the time lag, as highlighted in the 2007 committee report, continues to be a problem in India. Since 2011, there has been no comprehensive data available on India’s literacy rate as the Census has been pending for years, barring some sample surveys.
Further, data available on outcomes are inadequate. Even though NIRF ranks institutions and provides some data on research outcomes, including publications and patents, it is limited to institutions that participate voluntarily while not all institutions are covered. Apart from this, there is no adequate data on salaries or placements received by students after completing their higher education. This data is important as it provides insights into the available jobs, and skill gaps in higher education, helping students make informed choices and guiding policymakers in enhancing educational quality and job placement efforts. Again, the NAS data is a survey and doesn’t reveal the real picture.
Furthermore, data on research publications, citations, patents, and faculty research output is limited. It is also necessary to track Ph.D. outcomes (time-to-completion, publication output, and post-degree employment) which would shed light on research quality and the career impact of doctoral programs.
Comprehensive data on behavioural records, student mental health, early childhood education (ECE), and teaching quality is essential to create an education system that not only promotes academic achievement but also supports holistic development. Quality ECE data helps assess foundational skills and equal access from an early age, while robust teacher data on qualifications and methodologies helps improve instructional quality and, in turn, student performance. Further, data on Students’/households’ expenditure on education should be captured & released regularly.
Article originally published on Factly, Dataful's parent organization.
