The academic year 2025–26 has seen a notable reduction in dropout rates across preparatory and secondary levels as compared to the last years, namely, 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25.The Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2025-26 report on School Education in India released by the Education Ministry Tuesday stated that at the preparatory level (Classes 3-5), the dropout rate declined from 2.3% in 2024-25 to 1.8% in 2025-26 and at the secondary level (Classes 9-10) from 8.2% to 7.0%.Of 1,466,682 schools in the report, 5,663 have zero enrollment. At 4,133, West Bengal tops the chart in having schools with zero enrollments.  100,843 schools have single teachers. With 16,357 schools having single teachers, Andhra Pradesh tops the chart, followed by 9,827 in Jharkhand.Chandigarh, Goa, Delhi, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, and Haryana have no schools with zero enrollment. Punjab has 19 schools with zero student enrollment and 53 teachers enrolled in these schools. The State has 1,749 schools with single teachers.Girls’ enrollment ratio has also marginally increased to 48.4% in 2025-26 from 48.3% in 2024-25. Female representation in schools has shown a positive trend in the academic year 2025–26, with girls’ enrolment reaching 48.4% in 2025-26, up from 48.3% in 2024-25.In 2025-26, 58.2% of schools were equipped with ramps and handrails, a marginal rise from 54.9% in 2024-25, marking a key step toward inclusive education by enhancing accessibility for students with disabilities and ensuring equal learning opportunities.Access to internet facilities in schools has seen a considerable increase in the academic year 2025–26. The percentage of schools with internet connectivity increased from 63.5% in 2024-25 to 67.4% in 2025-26. The significant improvement highlights a growing focus on strengthening digital infrastructure, enabling better access to online resources, digital content, and technology-enabled teaching methods.The report stated that presently, 95.0% of schools are powered by electricity, 98.5% have girls’ toilets, and 97.2% have boys’ toilets – ensuring dignity and hygiene for all students. Handwashing facilities are now available in 96.9% of schools, and access to safe drinking water has reached 99.5%.The Pupil-Teacher Ratios (PTR) at the Foundational, Preparatory, Middle, and Secondary levels are now reported at 10, 12, 17, and 21, respectively. NEP 2020 recommends reaching a PTR ratio of 30:1 at all levels of the school education system to have a reasonable level of interactive learning.“It is observed that Chandigarh and Delhi have the highest number of students per school with PTR within the RTE norm, indicating optimum utilization of school infrastructure. On the other side, for states such as Ladakh, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, students per school are significantly low, indicating a need for optimisation of schools’ infrastructure,” the report said.