© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Journalism of Courage
Premium
Delhi Economic Survey 2025-26: Girls ahead of boys in school enrolment across all levels
At the secondary level, girls record 82.5, while boys record 72.5. At higher secondary, the figures are 68.8 for girls and 58.8 for boys.
At the primary level, girls in Delhi record a NER of 100, meaning near-complete enrolment, while boys stand at 90.5.
Girls are enrolled in Delhi schools in higher numbers than boys at every level of education, from primary to higher secondary, according to the Economic Survey of Delhi 2025-26.
At the primary level, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for girls stands at 107.2, against 97.4 for boys. At upper primary, the gap widens, with girls recording a GER of 122, compared to 113.1 for boys. The pattern holds at the secondary level, where girls stand at 104.7 against 98 for boys, and at higher secondary, where girls record 87.2 against 78.7 for boys.
Economic Survey of Delhi 2025–26
Girls enrolled in Delhi schools at higher rates than boys — at every level
Gross Enrolment Ratio · Net Enrolment Ratio · Gender gap at higher secondary
Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) — Girls vs Boys
Primary
107.2
Girls
Primary
97.4
Boys
Upper Primary
122
Girls
Upper Primary
113.1
Boys
NER at Primary — Near-complete enrolment
100
Girls vs
90.5
A NER of 100 means virtually every girl of primary school age is enrolled in Delhi
GER — Higher Secondary
87.2
Girls vs
78.7
~9 pt gap
Boys trail girls by the widest margin at the highest school level
GER can exceed 100 as it includes students outside the official age group. NER counts only students within the official age bracket. Source: Economic Survey of Delhi 2025–26
Indian Express InfoGenIE
The Net Enrolment Ratio (NER), which measures enrolment among children of the official school-going age, shows a similar trend. At the primary level, girls in Delhi record a NER of 100, meaning near-complete enrolment, while boys stand at 90.5.
At the secondary level, girls record 82.5, while boys record 72.5. At higher secondary, the figures are 68.8 for girls and 58.8 for boys.
Delhi’s overall enrolment figures are more than 10 percentage points above the national average at most levels. The national GER at the primary level stands at 90.9, compared to Delhi’s combined figure of 101.8. At upper primary, the national figure is 90.3, against Delhi’s 117.3.
The survey does not attribute the enrolment gap to any single policy or factor. However, the data marks a reversal of the national pattern, in which girls have historically been enrolled at lower rates than boys.
The data also raises questions about boys’ enrolment, particularly at the higher secondary level, where the gap between girls and boys is approximately nine percentage points.
Story continues below this ad
On student performance, the survey presents mixed results. Delhi students in Class 3 score below the national average in both language and mathematics. By Class 9, however, Delhi students perform above the national average in all subjects assessed. School attendance in Delhi is higher than the national average at all levels, based on data from the 75th National Sample Survey.
Advertisement
Loading Recommendations...
Live Blog