‘At 22.2%, school dropout rate in Karnataka much above nat’l avg’

New Delhi: Karnataka’s school dropout rate at the secondary level stands alarmingly high at 22.2 per cent, far above the national average of 14.1 per cent, according to a report by the Union Ministry of Education.

The 2023–24 figures place Karnataka among the states with the highest dropout rates in classes 9 and 10, alongside Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tripura, Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu.

Among its southern neighbours, Karnataka fares poorly — Kerala’s dropout rate is just 3.41 per cent, Tamil Nadu’s is 7.68 per cent, Telangana’s is 11.43 per cent, and Andhra Pradesh’s is 12.48 per cent. Only Bihar (25.63 per cent) and Assam (25.07 per cent) report worse dropout rates.

In response, the ministry has urged high-burden states to conduct door-to-door surveys in school catchment areas to identify out-of-school children and ensure their re-enrolment.

These findings emerged from the Project Approval Board (PAB) meetings held under the Ministry as part of the Samagra Shiksha programme for 2025–26. The meetings took place between April and May this year with various states.

A senior Ministry official reiterated that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to achieve a 100 per cent Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) by 2030, and that high dropout rates are a significant hurdle.

In Delhi, 57.06 per cent of students study in government schools, which comprise 48.99 per cent of all schools in the capital. The PAB stressed the need to improve both GER and Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) in the higher secondary segment.

West Bengal’s annual dropout rate at the secondary level is 17.87 per cent. The state has been advised to validate its data and address the underlying causes.

Tamil Nadu, though faring better than Karnataka, was flagged for its 7.7 per cent dropout rate at the secondary level and advised to improve on its 82.9 per cent GER to meet the NEP target.