New Delhi: According to a report of the Ministry of Education, the school dropout rate at the secondary level (class 9-10) is very high in about a dozen states including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Maharashtra. Regarding this, the central government has suggested to the states that they should take special steps to reduce the school dropout rate as per the guidelines of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020).

The report said that a large number of students are dropping out of school at the secondary level in states like Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Punjab.

This information has come to light from the minutes of the meetings of the Project Approval Board (PAB) of the Ministry of Education. These meetings were held with various states between April and May 2025 under the Samagra Shiksha Yojana 2025-26.

The target of 100% enrollment rate by 2030

According to officials, the central government aims to achieve a 100 percent Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at the school level by 2030, as prescribed in NEP 2020. However the rising dropout rate is hampering this target.

Which states are in a worrying situation?

According to the report, the dropout rate at the secondary level in 2023-24 is a serious concern in states like Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tripura, Karnataka, Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu.

This rate is 22.1% in Karnataka, which is much higher than the national average of 14.1%.

This rate is 7.7% in Tamil Nadu, where the GER is currently 82.9%, while the NEP target is 100%.

The dropout rate at the secondary level in West Bengal was found to be 17.87%.

What measures did the government suggest?
The Center has advised these states to conduct door-to-door surveys in the catchment areas of schools and run special enrollment campaigns to identify out-of-school children (OoSC) and re-enroll them in school.

In Bihar, major discrepancies were found in reporting on the PRABANDH portal, especially in OoSC data. Due to this, the state has been directed to conduct a comprehensive enrollment campaign with the help of school management committees to identify and ensure the admission of all children.

Delhi's situation
According to the report, 57.06% of students in Delhi study in government schools, while their share in total schools is 48.99%. PAB expressed concern that there is a need to improve the situation regarding the enrollment rate in government schools. Also, it has been recommended to improve GER and NER (Net Enrolment Ratio) at the higher secondary level.

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