No Teacher, No Class: State of the Education Report for India, 2021

This report attempts to provide an understanding of key aspects of the teaching profession and workforce in India – nearly 9.7 million teachers in 2019/20 – the complex work that they do, and their professional development, through the filters of policy debates, choices, pushes and pulls. It looks at the questions that create core tensions in the sector and affect teacher quality and availability. It presents evidence wherever possible, and identifies gaps. The analytical framework of this report draws from important contextual and sectoral aspects including India’s social and political context — especially its federal structure – and social characteristics of gender, caste, rural-urban divide and the government-private divide. This report, prepared during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and constrained by prevailing conditions, is primarily based on analysis of secondary data and review of policies, reports and research literature. Chapters explore specific themes and present key findings.