Lok Sabha Question No. 1538 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-09
Subject: Internal Evaluation of the Implementation of National Education Policy
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Kali Charan Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1538 ANSWERED ON 09.02.2026

## Internal Evaluation of the Implementation of National Education Policy

1538. Shri Kali Charan Singh:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any outcome-based, third-party or internal evaluation of the implementation of the National  Education  Policy  (NEP)  2020  has  been  undertaken  in  school  and  higher  education sectors, if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  the  indicators  and  benchmarks  used  to  assess  learning  outcomes,  access,  equity,  quality, teacher capacity and institutional performance;
- (c)  the  details  of  inter-State,  inter-district  and  inter-institutional  variations  observed  in  such assessment;
- (d) the details of corrective or course-correction measures initiated in response to the findings; and (e)  the  details  of  institutional  mechanisms  established  for  continuous  monitoring  and  periodic reporting on NEP outcomes?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)

(a) to (e):  A number of mechanisms have been put in place by the Ministry of Education for monitoring,  review  and  evaluation  of  various  interventions  relating  to  access,  equity,  quality, learning outcomes and teacher capacity, as detailed below:

According to Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE +) 2024-25, India's school education system saw measurable improvements across key educational indicators. It has data  with  nearly  14.72  lakh  schools  and  nearly  24.7  Crore  students  from  Foundational  to Secondary level from varied socio-economic backgrounds. The number of teachers increased from 98.07 lakh to 1.01 crore, with total 54.82 lakh female teachers, reflecting a more gender-balanced workforce. The Pupil Teacher Ratio improved at all levels in 2024-25. The ratios now stand at 10 at the foundational level, 13 at the preparatory level, 17 at the middle level, and 21 at the secondary level. These ratios are stronger than the NEP norm of 1:30, supporting closer attention to each student and better learning outcomes. The academic year 2024-25 has seen a notable reduction in dropout  rates  across  the  Preparatory  (from  3.7%  to  2.3%),  Middle  (from  5.2%  to  3.5%),  and Secondary levels  (from  10.9%  to  8.2%)  as  compared  to  2023-24.  Student  retention  improved across all levels in 2024-25. The foundational level increased from 98.0 percent to 98.9 percent. The preparatory level increased from 85.4 percent to 92.4 percent. The middle level increased from  78.0  percent  to  82.8  percent.  The  secondary  level  increased  from  45.6  percent  to  47.2 percent. The academic year 2024-25 recorded an increase in the Gross Enrolment Ratio at the middle  and  secondary  levels.  The  middle  level  rose  from  89.5  percent  to  90.3  percent.  The secondary level rose from 66.5 percent to 68.5 percent. This growth reflects enhanced access to education and increased student participation in higher grades.

Department of School Education & Literacy has developed Performance Grading Index, State (PGI)  by  combining  73  indicators  from  various  domains  of  school  education  viz.,  learning outcomes, access outcomes, infrastructure, facilities, equity outcomes, etc.  The PGI-State reports for the year from 2017-18 to 2023-24 can be accessed at https://pgi.udiseplus.gov.in/#/statepgi/home. Similarly, Performance Grading Index, District is a district-level assessment tool which is used to compare and improve school education outcomes in a decentralized manner. It covers outcomes, classroom processes, infrastructure, safety, digital learning, and governance. The PGI-District reports for the year from 2018-19 to 2023-24 can be accessed at  https://dpgi.udiseplus.gov.in/#aboutPgi .

'PARAKH  Rashtriya  Sarvekshan  2024'  was  conducted  across  India  on  04.12.2024,  to understand the baseline performance in development of competencies among the students at the end  of  the  Foundational,  Preparatory,  and  Middle  stages  (Grades  3,  6,  and  9  respectively). Nationwide over 21.15 lakh students and 2.70 lakh teachers from more than 74,229 schools across 781 districts from all States/UTs participated in the survey. National, State and District level report cards for PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 are available at https://dashboard.parakh.ncert.gov.in/en.

In higher education, an annual web based 'All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE)' is a comprehensive data source on higher education. AISHE 2022-23 (provisional) reports rise in number of University / University Level Institutions and Colleges from 760 to 1213 and from 38498 to 46624 respectively, as compared to AISHE 2014-15. Enrolment in higher education has risen from 3.42 crore in 2014-15 to 4.46 crore in 2022-23, with female enrolment from 1.57 crore to 2.18 crore. The enrolment of SC students is 69.13 Lakh in 2022-23 as compared to 46.07 Lakh in 2014.15. The enrolment of ST students has increased to 28.72 Lakh in 2022-23 from 16.41 Lakh in 2014-15.  Total STEM enrolment stands at 99.76 lakh. Number of faculty has also increased from 14.73 lakh in 2014-15 to 16.64 lakh in 2022-23, with number of female faculty increased from 5.7 lakh to 7.36 lakh. Overall GER has improved from 23.7 in 2014-15 to 29.5 in 2022-23.

India's standing in global rankings has significantly improved, with 54 Indian HEIs featured in the QS Rankings 2026, as compared to 11 in 2015. The QS Subject Rankings for 2025 included 79 Indian HEIs, an increase of 10 from the previous year's 69. As per QS Asia ranking 2026, 294 Indian Higher Education Institutions features.

Focus of NEP on research and innovation has propelled India's ranking in the Global Innovation Index (GII) from 48 in 2020 and currently being ranked at 38th place in 2025.

Education is subject of concurrent list and both Central and State government work collaboratively to ensure comprehensive, and progressive enhancement of overall quality and growth within the education  sector.  NEP  2020,  requires  careful  planning,  joint  monitoring,  and  collaborative implementation between the Centre and States for execution of the policy.

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