Gujarat Schools in Crisis: Secondary Dropout Rate Exceeds 15%, Enrolment Plummets

Gujarat has been placed in the 'red zone' of the Union Education Ministry's latest report, which flags the state for having a secondary school dropout rate above 15 per cent. According to the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2025-26 data, more than 15 out of every 100 students in Gujarat drop out before completing secondary education.

The report also reveals that enrolment in state secondary and higher secondary schools is significantly below the national average, despite the state government's long-running Shala Praveshotsav enrolment drive, active for over two decades. UDISE+ is the central education management information system that allows schools to record and submit data in real time.

The age-specific enrolment rate (ASER) in Gujarat is also lower than the national average. For higher secondary schools (Classes 11 and 12), the net enrolment rate in the state is 29.1 per cent, meaning only about 29 of every 100 children in that age group are enrolled. For girls, the rate is 29.6 per cent, far below the national average of 41.1 per cent.

Data from previous years show a steep decline: higher secondary enrolment dropped from over 40 per cent in 2022-23 to 34.7 per cent in 2023-24, then to 24 per cent in 2024-25, before slightly recovering to 29 per cent in 2025-26. The national average for 2025-26 is 35.8 per cent.

According to the ASER figures, only about 31 out of every 100 children in Gujarat who should be in secondary or higher secondary school are actually enrolled. This is far worse than the national averages of 51.3 per cent and 52.5 per cent, respectively. Secondary school enrolment in the state was 49.5 per cent in 2022-23, dropped to 45.7 per cent in 2023-24, then drastically to 26.1 per cent in 2024-25, before improving slightly.

An education official involved with the data told The Indian Express that reasons for dropping out include students changing schools, early marriage, and area-specific factors. 'In rural or tribal areas, boys drop out to support their families financially, while girls face social restrictions on travelling to other villages or towns for higher education. Many students also drop out after failing exams,' the official said.

In primary schools, Gujarat has achieved a zero dropout rate. However, the secondary school dropout rate for boys is 17.6 per cent, far above the national average of 10.9 per cent; for girls it is 13.3 per cent, against the national average of 8 per cent. The overall secondary dropout rate of 15.7 per cent compared to the national average of 9.5 per cent indicates that while Gujarat succeeds in getting children into primary school, it struggles to retain them through secondary education.

One positive sign is a marginal decline in schools with zero enrolments. Out of 53,425 schools in Gujarat, the number with zero enrolments dropped from 63 in 2024-25 to 58 in 2025-26. The number of teachers in such schools also fell from 78 to 74.

Anticipating the UDISE results, the state government had focused on bringing back 6.4 lakh students who had dropped out during the annual enrolment programme in June. At the end of the three-day campaign, 50,000 remained out of school.