More than half of Indian states and union territories witnessed a decline in enrollments as 3.7 million fewer students were enrolled in school in 2023-24, a Moneycontrol analysis of the government’s Unified District Information System for Education portal data.
Of the 21 states, witnessing a decline in enrollments, Bihar was the worst performer, as 3.2 million of the 3.7 million decline in enrollments came from Bihar. The state enrolled 21.34 million students compared with 24.5 million in the previous year.
Rajasthan witnessed a decline of nearly 1 million students, whereas Karnataka lost half a million kids.
The industrialised states of Telangana, West Bengal and Maharashtra were the big gainers, each adding over 200,000 students during this period.
West Bengal’s addition comes despite accounting for the highest increase in secondary school dropouts (Classes 9-10).
Nearly one in five states dropped out in Classes 9-10 in West Bengal in 2023-24 compared with less than 10 percent in 2022-23.
Dropout concerns
Rajasthan had the highest increase in primary school dropouts, at 3.2 percent—dropouts at this level increased to 7.6 percent from 4.4 percent earlier—but Bihar had the highest dropouts, at 8.9 percent, nearly four times than the national average.
The situation was much worse at the upper primary level, as over a quarter of students dropped out between Classes 6-8 in Bihar, compared to 4.9 percent for the national average.
The dropouts increased 10.9 percentage points over a year in Bihar.
Bihar also led the country in secondary school dropouts, despite a 3.8 percentage point dip, as one in four students dropped out of Classes 9-10.
On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh witnessed double percentage point declines in dropout rates.
Worse for girls
Across the country, the decline in enrollments was less for boys than girls, but in Bihar, the situation was worse, as girls lost out more than boys.
Of the 1.612 million dips in enrollments in India, 1.610 million came from Bihar. In fact, in 13 of 36 states and UTs, the situation worsened for female enrollments, as they lost out more.
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