Parliamentary Panel Reports 73% Student Dropout Rate Before Higher Secondary

A parliamentary committee report presented to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday revealed that nearly 73% of students in India drop out before completing their higher secondary education.

Data from UDISE 2024-25 shows that while there are 9,11,032 primary schools, the number drops to 90,866 at the higher secondary level, with enrollment falling from 61.8 million to 16.4 million students.

The committee urged the Ministry to upgrade existing primary and secondary schools to higher secondary status to improve accessibility and address the severe lack of infrastructure for students with special needs.