Due
to political and social disturbances, Jammu & Kashmir has not been able to maintain a good quality of education in the institutions. However, the State Government with the help of the Centre is trying to overcome the drawbacks in the field of education by modifying its Educational Policy. A provision of free education for children coming from families below the poverty line has also been made to facilitate education at the primary level among the poor.
The State has several renowned institutions of higher learning. There are some good institutes providing higher education in the fields of medicine, engineering and management. The state is marching ahead steadily on the path of modernization and prosperity.
Against the All India Level of 36.23 % as per 1981 census, the rate of literacy for the State was 26.67% with 45.56% for urban areas and 21.63% in the rural areas, 36.29% among males and 15.88% only among females. District Jammu with 42.86% tops the literacy level with male literacy at 52.60% and female literacy at 32.24%. A special emphasis is being laid on development of human resources in the State.
There are more than 15000 schools with an enrolment of about 1.5 million. Similarly, there are 32 colleges with an enrolment of about 0.40 lakhs. For higher studies, there are now three universities including one in Jammu and the rest in Kashmir. The total number of students enrolled for general education at the university level is about 0.4 lakhs which includes 14083 females. The number has gone up six fold since 1950-51 when it was 2669 only. The professional Institutions include
- Two Engineering Colleges in Srinagar and Jammu,
- Four Polytechnics
- 37 Industrial Training Institutes
with an enrolment of about 4000. There are four Medical Colleges, 100 Hospitals, 343 Primary Health Centers and 3326 Medical Sub Centers with total bed strength of more than 10,000 in the State. The human resources of Jammu & Kashmir includes about
- 23000 graduates and post graduates
- 4500 Degree/Diploma Engineers
- About 12000 ITI trained personnel, and other skilled personnel.
Educational Institutions
| Category | Total Number | Affiliation | Total Enrolment | Number of Teachers | Teacher-Student Ratio |
| Pre-Primary School | - | - | 38278 | - | - |
| Primary School | 10483 | - | 893005 | 22113 | 30 |
| Elementary School | 3104 | - | 405698 | 23362 | 22 |
| Secondary School | 1114 | - | 164969 | 17847 | 17 |
| Senior Secondary School | 237 | - | 62736 | 6175 | 16 |
| Pre Degree /Junior College | - | | - |
| Board of Intermediate / Secondary Education | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Degree College | 38 (Arts/Sc./Com.) | - | 41264 (BA/BSc. BCom.) | - | - |
| Engg. College | 2 | - | 795 (B.E./B.Sc./B.Arch) | - | - |
| Professional College | - | - | - | - | - |
| Medical College | 172 | - | 1559 (MBBS) | - | - |
| All University | 3 | - | 3265 (MA/MSc/MCom.) 286 (Ph.D/D.Phil./D.Sc.) | - | - |
| Central University | - | - | - | - | - |
| State university | - | - | - | - | - |
| Deemed University | - | - | - | - | - |
| Institution of National Importance | - | - | - | - | - |
| Research Institution | - | - | - | - | - |
| Teacher Training College | 8 | - | 1057 (B.Ed./B.T.) | - | - |
| Teacher Training School | 14 | - | 528 | - | - |
| Polytechnic Institutes | 12 | - | 935 | - | - |
Technical /Industrial/Arts&Craft School | 37 | - | 4821 | - | - |