73% Students Drop Out Before Higher Secondary

A parliamentary panel has expressed concern over the drastic decline in the number of schools and students as education level rises.

The panel noted that nearly 73% of students drop out before finishing higher secondary.

The recommendation is part of the Tenth Report of the Committee on Estimates on providing affordable and quality education in the country.

The committee presented its report to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

According to the Unified District Information System for Education, there are 10,92,671 schools in the country, including government and government-aided schools.

Out of these, 9,11,032 schools are at the primary level, 4,12,805 schools at the upper primary level, 1,61,808 schools at the secondary level, and only 90,866 schools at the higher secondary level.

The number of students enrolled also decreases as the education level rises.

There are 6,18,45,033 students in primary classes, 4,08,93,978 students in upper primary classes, 2,36,68,220 students in secondary classes, and 1,64,17,949 students in higher secondary classes.

The committee has urged the Ministry to prioritize upgrading existing primary and secondary schools into full higher secondary schools.

This will ensure that a high school is physically accessible to students from different communities and will help reduce the dropout rate.

The committee has also flagged a severe gap in the availability of infrastructure for Divyang students.

It has desired that the Ministry impress upon all state and UT governments to take steps to set up more secondary and higher secondary schools.

The panel's report highlights the need for increasing the number of schools at secondary and higher secondary levels.

This will help increase the enrollment of students in the country and reduce the dropout rate.

The report's findings are a cause for concern and highlight the need for urgent action to improve the education system in the country.

The government needs to take steps to address the shortage of schools and infrastructure for Divyang students.

In conclusion, the parliamentary panel's report has flagged a critical issue in the education sector.

The high dropout rate and shortage of schools at secondary and higher secondary levels need to be addressed urgently.

The government needs to take concrete steps to improve the education system and ensure that all students have access to quality education.