With a rate of 20.7%, Bihar had the highest rate, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Punjab, and Assam. High dropout rates also existed in Uttar Pradesh. By 2030, schools are to have a 100% Gross Enrollment Rate (GER), according to the New Education Policy (NEP). It would be challenging to attain due to the persistently high dropout rates in several states. Even the 12.6% dropout rate at the national level is high.
Source: The New Indian Express
Karnataka has to take its high dropout rate issue seriously. There were already signs of the large numbers of out-of-school youngsters and dropouts. Last year, the state administration informed the High Court that there were over a million children in the state who were not enrolled in schools or Anganwadis.
The statistics were derived from a door-to-door survey conducted throughout the state in accordance with the court’s instructions in response to a PIL from 2013 that demanded action to re-enroll children who had left school. This demonstrates that the issue is not new. Other studies that demonstrated the high dropout rates were conducted.
Other figures from the previous academic year indicated that student retention rates were 87% at the elementary level, 78% at the secondary level, and a dismal 46% at the higher secondary level. This meant that more than 50% of the first-standard students did not finish their studies.
There were reports earlier this year stating that 3.7 million state residents did not complete their education by enrolling in a college because they left school or a pre-university.
Source: Abhijit Chavda Clips
This poses a significant obstacle for the next administration. The previous administration may have been more concerned with contentious subjects like revising the curriculum than with pressing problems like the dropout rate. It is necessary to determine the causes, which may even change from district to district.
High dropout rates have been attributed to a number of factors, including poverty, continued child labour, an increase in child marriages, fewer high schools than primary and middle schools, insufficient infrastructure and amenities like latrines, and even high school curricula that are challenging. All children should be enrolled in school and guaranteed that they complete their education in order to solve these issues.
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