Delhi’s school infrastructure is facing mounting pressure as a growing student population continues to outpace available facilities, according to the latest findings from the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2024–25 report. The national capital currently has 5,556 schools catering to over 44.9 lakh students, indicating a significant enrolment burden on existing institutions.
Data from the report highlights that each school accommodates an average of 808 students, pointing to a high density of enrolment per institution. While a total of 1,61,958 teachers are deployed across schools, resulting in an overall pupil-teacher ratio of 28:1, the infrastructure has not expanded proportionately to match the rising number of students. This imbalance suggests that while staffing levels remain relatively stable, physical infrastructure continues to be stretched.
In response to these challenges, the Delhi government has outlined plans to construct around 50 new school buildings and add approximately 8,000 classrooms during the 2026–27 academic cycle. The move aims to ease overcrowding and improve learning conditions across the city.
Of the total number of schools, 2,681 are government-run institutions, underscoring the reliance of a large segment of students on public education infrastructure. The distribution of schools across academic levels shows that 2,528 fall under foundational and preparatory stages, 803 cater to middle-level education, and 2,225 operate at the secondary level.
Teacher allocation varies across these levels, with 26,560 teachers at foundational and preparatory stages, 11,564 at the middle level, and 1,23,834 at the secondary level. The pupil-teacher ratio differs accordingly, recorded at 14:1 for foundational, 18:1 for preparatory, 28:1 for middle, and 19:1 for secondary classes. However, concerns persist as 1,089 students are enrolled in single-teacher schools, raising questions about classroom management and workload distribution.
On the infrastructure front, basic amenities such as washrooms are available in most schools, with 4,720 institutions having functional girls’ washrooms and 4,781 equipped with boys’ facilities. However, access to digital resources remains limited, as only 430 schools have digital libraries, and 1,844 schools are equipped with solar panels.
The report also notes that Aadhaar-linked admissions have reached 43,11,104, reflecting a high level of enrolment tracking. Interestingly, the gross enrolment ratio indicates a higher participation of girls across all levels. At the secondary stage, girls’ enrolment stands at 95.7 per cent compared to 88.3 per cent for boys. Similar trends are observed at other levels, with higher ratios of girls enrolled at middle, preparatory, and foundational stages.
The findings underline the urgent need for infrastructure expansion and resource enhancement to support Delhi’s growing student population and ensure quality education delivery.