UNESCO GEM Report 2024-25: Leadership in Education and India
Why in the news
UNESCO’s GEM Report 2024-25 on education leadership highlighted learning gaps and gender imbalance, in India and worldwide.
Key facts: India
- NAS 2021: only 25% of Class 8 students showed maths proficiency.
- Several states have not fully applied the NEP 2020 rule of 50 hours yearly training for school leaders.
- Delhi’s Middle Leadership Pilot built teacher trust and collaboration through peer mentorship.
Key facts: world
| Theme | Finding |
|---|---|
| Reading | 87 boys per 100 girls reach minimum proficiency; 72 in middle-income countries |
| Maths post-COVID | Girls lag in Brazil, UK, Italy |
| Female-led African schools | Up to 1 year of extra learning |
| Leadership training | Under 50% of countries require it before appointing heads |
Positives and negatives
- Positives: more women teachers, NEP link between leadership and learning, richer UNESCO data, scalable Delhi mentoring, 100+ countries in surveys.
- Negatives: women underrepresented in decisions, bigger digital-divide learning loss for girls, uneven reform, weak merit-based selection.
Way forward
- Mandatory certification for principals; fast-track paths for women leaders.
- School governance modules in teacher education.
- Replicate decentralised mentoring models in other states.
Exam angle
- Publisher: UNESCO; policy link: NEP 2020.
- Surveys: ASER 2023, NAS 2021.