73% Students Drop Out Before Class 12: Parliamentary Panel Flags Drastic Decline

A parliamentary committee has expressed serious concern over the sharp fall in the number of schools and students as the level of education rises. The Committee on Estimates, in its report presented to the Lok Sabha, noted that nearly 73 per cent of students drop out before completing higher secondary education.

The report, titled 'Budget and Policy aspects for providing Affordable and Quality Education in the Country, including Review of Central Board of Secondary Education', is the tenth report of the committee in the Eighteenth Lok Sabha. It was tabled on Wednesday.

According to data from the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2024-25, there are a total of 10,92,671 government and government-aided schools in the country. Of these, 9,11,032 are at the primary level, 4,12,805 at the upper primary level, 1,61,808 at the secondary level, and only 90,866 at the higher secondary level.

The number of students also shows a similar pattern. Enrolment in primary classes stands at 6,18,45,033, which drops to 4,08,93,978 in upper primary (classes 6 to 8), further to 2,36,68,220 in secondary classes, and finally to 1,64,17,949 in higher secondary classes.

The committee stated that the drastic decline in schools and students as education levels rise is a matter of grave concern. It noted that out of over one million government schools, the vast majority are only primary schools, and nearly 73 per cent of students drop out before finishing higher secondary. This indicates serious gaps in access to education at higher levels.

In its recommendations, the committee strongly urged the Ministry of Education to prioritise upgrading existing primary and secondary schools into full higher secondary schools. This, it said, would ensure that a high school is physically accessible to students from different communities and help arrest the student dropout rate. The committee also emphasised the urgent need to increase the number of schools at the secondary and higher secondary levels.

Recognising that education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution and that most schools are under the jurisdiction of state governments and Union Territory administrations, the committee desired the Ministry to impress upon all states and UTs to take steps for setting up more secondary and higher secondary schools. This, it believed, would increase enrolment in the country.

The report also highlighted a severe gap in infrastructure for Divyang (children with special needs) students. As per UDISE+ 2024-25, out of a national total of 14,71,437 schools, only 5,23,143 have CwSN-friendly toilets, and only 8,08,466 have ramps with handrails. This means more than half of the schools across the country lack such facilities.

The committee noted that the Ministry of Education provides financial support to states and UTs under the Samagra Shiksha scheme for inclusive education. However, during 2024-25, an allocated budget of Rs 482 lakh for construction of 186 CwSN toilets saw actual utilisation of only Rs 2.60 lakh, with no progress in physical targets. This underutilisation, the committee observed, further widens the accessibility gap.

The committee's findings underline the need for focused policy interventions to ensure both access to higher education and inclusive infrastructure, so that every child, regardless of background or ability, has the opportunity to complete their schooling.