According to official data gathered from project approval board meetings held under the Ministry of Education, several states in India experienced higher secondary school dropout rates in the academic year 2021-2022 compared to the national average of 12.6 percent.
The data was part of discussions on the implementation of the “Samagra Shiksha” programme for 2023-2024, which took place between March and May this year.
The government considers dropout rates as significant obstacles to achieving the objectives outlined in the National Education Policy, particularly the goal of attaining 100 percent gross enrolment rate at the school level by 2030.
Specific figures from the minutes of the project approval board meetings revealed that Gujarat had a dropout rate of 17.85 percent, while Karnataka had a rate of 14.6 percent in the same academic year. Bihar registered the highest dropout rate at 20.46 percent, followed by Assam at 20.3 percent. Punjab, Meghalaya, and Andhra Pradesh also featured in the list with rates of 17.2 percent, 21.7 percent, and 16.7 percent, respectively.
In the case of West Bengal, although there has been a notable improvement in dropout rates, particularly at the elementary level, efforts must continue to reduce the dropout rate and improve retention at the secondary level, as noted in the meeting minutes.
Notably, the dropout rate figures for West Bengal and the national capital were not included in the available data. However, it was highlighted that the Union Territory of Delhi faced challenges with a considerable number of out-of-school children, emphasizing the need to upload details of mainstreamed out-of-school children on the PRABANDH portal.
Encouragingly, Madhya Pradesh exhibited a decline in the dropout rate at the secondary level, decreasing from 23.8 percent in 2020-2021 to 10.1 percent in 2021-2022. The state’s success was attributed to an annual special enrolment drive that involved a focused household survey facilitated by a mobile app.
Similarly, Maharashtra witnessed a decrease in the annual average dropout rate at the secondary level from 11.2 percent in 2020-2021 to 10.7 percent in 2021-2022. However, five districts in the state still reported dropout rates of 15 percent and above.
The collated data revealed that Uttar Pradesh faced a significant challenge with high annual average dropout rates in several districts, including Basti (23.3 percent), Budaun (19.1 percent), Etawah (16.9 percent), Ghazipur (16.6 percent), Etah (16.2 percent), Mahoba (15.6 percent), Hardoi (15.6 percent), and Azamgarh (15 percent).
The findings emphasize the urgent need for concerted efforts and targeted interventions to address the underlying issues contributing to the alarming secondary school dropout rates across multiple states in India.
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