Karnataka records 99.93% drop out of students

Notwithstanding the government's claims of its increased focus on the school education, the country has witnessed a massive surge in the annual drop out rate of higher secondary students by over 202% since 2014-15.

The drop out rate of the Class X students across the country also went up by nearly 10% in 2016-17 since 2014-15, according to latest statistics, tabled by the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on December 31, 2018.

Karnataka saw a whopping 99.93% annual drop out rate of students at higher secondary level (Classes XI-XII) in 2016-17, highest among all the states, ringing alarm bells for the policy-makers.

The annual drop out rate of higher secondary students in the state was recorded at a meager 1.96% in the state in 2015-16 and negligible in 2014-15.

The drop out rate of Class X students in Karnataka, which was pegged at 27.57% in 2014-15 and 26.18% in 2015-16, also rose up to a staggering 48.11% in 2016-17.

According to the statistics, collected by the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) during annual survey of school education, 13.09% of the higher secondary students left their schools in 2016-17 across the country.

The percentage of the annual drop out of students at higher secondary level was pegged at at 4.33% in 2014-15.

At the senior secondary level, 22.13% Class X students dropped out of their school education in 2016-17. The drop out rate of students at this level had gone down to 17.06% in 2015-16 from 20.14% in 2014-15.

The NIEPA statistics also bring to the fore that the increase in the annual drop out rate of the boys has been higher than those of the girls both at the secondary (Class X) and higher secondary (Class XI-XII) levels.

The annual drop out rate of the boys at higher secondary level went up to reach 13.18% in 2016-17 from 4.33% in 2014-15. The drop out rate of girls, which was just 4.56 % in 2014-15, shot up to reach 12.98 % in 2016-17.

At the level of Class X, the drop out rate of boys in 2016-17 was recorded at 22.11%, 2.02% higher than what was recorded in 2014-15.

For the girls, the drop out rate at Class X level remained at 22.15% in 2016-17 while it was pegged at 20.19% in 2014-15.

Earlier this year, the Centre rolled out an integrated school education programme — Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) — merging into one its previous flagship schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan for elementary education, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan for secondary education and various teacher education programmes, seeking to treat school education “holistically” without segmentation from pre-nursery level to Class XII (pre-university).

“The major focus of the scheme is to ensure retention of children till completion of (their) schooling,” HRD minister Prakash Javadekar told Lok Sabha.