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Journalism of Courage
When the Ministry of Education released the District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2024-25 report this year, one number stood out above all: for the first time, India crossed the 1 crore mark in teachers, and women formed a majority at 54.2%. Alongside this, girls’ enrolment in schools nudged upward again, reaching 48.3% – a slow yet promising growth pointing to an education system gradually becoming more gender-balanced.
Teaching has long been one of the most accessible professions for women, especially at primary levels, but the new data suggests it is becoming even more attractive and widespread. The steady increase in female teachers across all levels means classrooms are now being led more by women than men, even in the senior-school education arena.
But what’s behind the surge? To understand the specific reasons behind the rise of these figures, indianexpress.com reached out to individuals and organisations working at grassroots and policy levels to understand what has changed over the years to cause the improvement.
Vineet Nayar of the Sampark Foundation — which, according to its website, works to improve learning outcomes in 1.4 lakh rural schools — pointed to two key reasons behind the rise in the number of women teachers. First, improved infrastructure has enhanced the mobility of teachers by expanding access to physical classrooms. Second, the introduction of smart classroom tools has made teaching subjects like mathematics, science, and English more accessible. “With smart classroom technology acting as an assistant teacher, many who earlier hesitated to teach these subjects now find them within their reach,” Nayar said.
Amrita Patwardhan, who leads the Education initiatives at Tata Trusts — the organisation behind institutions like IISc and TIFR — said the rise in female teachers reflects the “feminisation” of the profession, driven by more women gaining qualifications and scholarships, supportive policies, and social norms that align teaching with caregiving roles.
On the effect of social norms as a factor, she noted, “Women are often considered the primary caregivers in domestic settings, and primary and pre-school education is seen as an extension of this role. The construction of the teacher as a ‘mother’ outside the home fuels this tendency. Additionally, the motivation to supplement family income contributes to this occupational choice.”
She further observed that women’s share in the profession is uneven across levels, “While numbers are high in pre-primary and primary, they decline sharply in secondary and tertiary education, making it important to examine growth by school level, type of management, and rural-urban context.”
Referring to the State of Teacher Education Report 2023 by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), she added that in some states women teachers outnumber men at the primary and secondary levels, but that the rise is steeper in private schools. Overall, only 44% of government school teachers are women compared with 63% in private schools, as per their report.
Meanwhile, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of girl students at the secondary level rose from 66.5% to 68.5%, a crucial shift because secondary schooling is often where girls drop off. The reasons lie partly in visible infrastructure improvements, better sanitation, improved campuses and infrastructure, and the growing visibility of women in school staff rooms.
Supporting infrastructure plays a huge role here. In 2024–25, 97.3% of schools reported girls’ toilets, electricity reached 93.6%, and handwashing facilities touched 95.9%. These are not small details, they often determine whether parents feel comfortable sending daughters to a school.
Patwardhan pointed out that enrolments have been improving steadily for three decades, aided by universal enrolment programmes, neighbourhood schools, and growing community recognition of education’s value. She explained that government initiatives like Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas and Mahila Samakhya have strengthened community support for girls’ education. “In many states, girls are transitioning from lower to higher levels at higher rates than boys, often because schools are accessible and girls remain within domestic settings while boys migrate for work after adolescence,” she said.
Patwardhan also highlighted that girls are more likely to be enrolled in government schools than private ones, reflecting household choices. She further stressed that “maternal education strongly influences girls’ consistent participation, showing the intergenerational impact of educating women.”
Dropout rates have fallen sharply, which is a major win for girls, as per this year’s UDISE+ report. Between 2022–23 and 2024–25, rates dropped from 8.7% to 2.3% at the Preparatory level, and from 13.8% to 8.2% at Secondary. These improvements are particularly important for girls, who are often the first to be pulled out of school when families face financial or social pressures.
Patwardhan pointed to evidence showing that safe infrastructure, especially functional toilets coupled with menstrual hygiene management programmes, improves attendance by normalising conversations around menstruation and dispelling taboos. She also stressed the role of safe transport, she said, “even a bicycle can significantly increase girls’ mobility and completion of secondary education.”
Strong foundational learning in middle school is equally important, she added, as it prepares students for the academic load ahead. Retention also improves when education aligns with aspirations, “Initiatives that integrate sports, life skills, self-esteem building, decision-making, and career planning help families see the tangible value of continuing their daughters’ schooling.”
Nayar on the other hand emphasised that the classroom experience itself has become a driver of change. “I’ve seen girls fight at home to go to school simply because they don’t want to miss the fun,” he said, underlining how the presence of basic amenities like toilets, paired with scholarships/some form of incentives, and safer schools has contributed much to mitigate inhibitions shown by earlier generation of learners. According to him, when classrooms are engaging, retention improves as “children stay where they love to learn.”
Antony Nellissery, Head of the Sterlite EdIndia Foundation, a non-profit working on teacher training programmes aligning with NEP 2020, added that the visible presence of women teachers has also reassured families. He said, “Families are increasingly confident about sending their daughters to school because of safer environments, better sanitation, and the presence of women educators who act as role models.”
Adding a broader context, Patwardhan further referred to the India Education Inequity Synthesis study released in June this year by Dalberg and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. According to her, this study highlights regional variations in the Gender Parity Index of children who have never enrolled in schools. While the national average stands at 0.87, states like Haryana (0.67), Odisha (0.76), and Uttar Pradesh (0.81) are slightly below this benchmark, indicating areas of potential focus.
Conversely, Tamil Nadu (3.10) and Telangana (1.26) reflect a reverse gap, where boys are more likely than girls to have never enrolled in school, pointing to opportunities for nuanced, state-specific approaches.
