The correct understanding of Jammu and Kashmir’s educational scenario lies between official claims and public criticism. While the UT has made significant progress in expanding schooling, persistent gaps demand attention. The real measure of educational success is not merely the number of schools, enrolment figures or infrastructure created, but what children learn and how they progress through different stages of education. Recent evidence from NITI Aayog, UDISE+, PARAKH, ASER and UNESCO provides an opportunity to examine these achievements alongside the challenges that continue to affect educational quality and equity.
The NITI Aayog report, ‘School Education System in India: Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement ‘, released in May 2026, analyses educational trends over a decade using UDISE+ data from 2014–15 to 2024–25, alongside PARAKH 2024, the National Achievement Survey and ASER 2024 findings. One notable achievement is the improvement in J&K’s primary stage Gross Enrolment Ratio, which increased from 87.22 per cent in 2014–15 to 113.7 per cent in 2024–25.
However, GER above 100 per cent does not mean every child is enrolled, as the indicator includes students younger or older than the official age group. More concerning is the GER of 77.3 per cent at the upper-primary level, 66.1 per cent at the secondary level and 44.8 per cent at the higher-secondary stage in 2024–25. The decline in higher-secondary GER from 48.58 per cent in 2014–15 to 44.8 per cent raises questions about retention, transition and the barriers that prevent students from continuing their education.
Learning outcomes present another critical dimension. According to PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, as reported by NITI Aayog J&K’s middle stage scores were below national averages in language, mathematics, science and social science. The respective scores were 50, 32, 38 and 36 per cent, compared with national averages of 54, 37, 40 and 40 per cent. These findings underline the need to strengthen conceptual understanding, foundational competencies and the practical application of knowledge rather than focusing exclusively on syllabus completion and examination performance.
ASER 2024, conducted by Pratham, offers another perspective by assessing children’s basic reading and arithmetic abilities, particularly in rural areas. Together, these assessments remind us that enrolment and examination results alone cannot provide a complete picture of educational quality.
UDISE+ remains indispensable for examining enrolment, teachers, infrastructure, retention and school facilities, while its 2025–26 database provides a newer reference point for assessing educational provision. However, J&K-specific figures must be systematically compared with previous years rather than mixing national statistics with Union Territory data.
UNESCO’s 2026 Global Education Monitoring Report, Access and Equity, broadens this discussion by examining disparities associated with gender, location, wealth and disability. This perspective is particularly relevant to Kashmir’s remote mountainous areas, disadvantaged communities and children requiring additional educational support. Equal access must mean more than school admission. It must include meaningful opportunities to learn, receive appropriate support and progress through successive educational stages.
J&K’s pupil-teacher ratio of 16:1, compared with the national ratio of 24:1, appears favourable. Yet, the reported presence of 1,371 single-teacher schools in 2024–25, rising to 1,544 in 2025–26, highlights how overall averages can conceal inequalities in teacher distribution. These figures should be verified against the corresponding UDISE+ datasets, but the underlying concern deserves serious attention. A favourable PTR at the UT level does not guarantee that every school, particularly in remote areas, has sufficient teachers across subjects and classes.
The NEP 2020 offers a framework for addressing learning gaps through foundational literacy and numeracy, experiential learning, vocational education, multilingualism and competency-based assessment. Its success, however, depends on effective classroom implementation, appropriate teacher deployment, sustained academic support and regular monitoring.
Kashmir’s educational debate must therefore move beyond isolated achievements or criticism. Priorities should include strengthening foundational learning, improving retention at secondary and higher-secondary levels, reducing disparities between schools and ensuring a fair distribution of teachers. A decade-long comparison must distinguish genuine improvements from persistent gaps and immediate measures to ensure quality and fairness.
(The Author is a columnist from Kupwara)
