Executive Summary:
This document summarizes the Indian government's response to questions regarding school dropouts and educational infrastructure. It presents data from the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE) and the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024. The document outlines reasons for student dropouts and details remedial measures implemented by the government through various schemes and initiatives.
Key Points / Main Content:
Data on School Dropouts:
* Dropout rate data from 2019-20 to 2023-24, disaggregated by state/UT, gender, and social category, is available via UDISE.
* The PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 assessed baseline competency development in students of Grades 3, 6, and 9, with participation from over 74,000 schools across 781 districts.
Reasons for Dropping Out:
* Major reasons for students dropping out of school include supplementing household income, domestic chores, lack of interest in studies, inability to cope with studies, disability, poor health, parents not considering education necessary, preparation for competitive exams, and marriage.
Government Remedial Measures:
* The Central Government assists States and UTs through the Samagra Shiksha scheme, which provides financial aid for opening/strengthening schools, constructing buildings, setting up Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Avasiya Vidyalayas, constructing hostels, providing free uniforms and textbooks, and offering transport allowances.
* The PM POSHAN scheme provides one hot cooked meal in Government and Government-aided schools to elementary level students, including Balvatika.
* Under the PM SHRI scheme, 382 schools in Assam have been selected for upgradation to showcase the National Education Policy 2020.
* The National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme awards scholarships to meritorious students from economically weaker sections to prevent dropouts at class VIII.
School Infrastructure:
* Data on the percentage of schools with girls' toilets, boys' toilets, drinking water, electricity, computer, and internet facilities for 2023-24 is available via UDISE.
Impact Analysis:
State and UT Governments:
* Impact: Responsible for the majority of schools and need to implement centrally sponsored schemes like Samagra Shiksha.
* Action Required: Utilize financial assistance for activities such as school construction, upgrades, and providing resources to students.
Students:
* Impact: Affected by dropout rates, access to resources like textbooks, uniforms, meals, and scholarship opportunities.
* Action Required: Take advantage of available resources and opportunities to continue education.
Schools:
* Impact: Responsible for providing facilities and a learning environment that supports student retention and development.
* Action Required: Improve infrastructure, implement inclusive practices, and engage students actively in their learning.
Ministry of Education:
* Impact: Oversees data collection, policy implementation, and the provision of financial assistance through various schemes.
* Action Required: Monitor dropout rates, evaluate the effectiveness of remedial measures, and adjust policies as needed.
Key Entities Referenced
National Education Policy 2020: A national policy document that guides the development of education in India.
Dhubri district in Assam: A specific geographical location (district within the state of Assam) that is a focus of the inquiry regarding school dropouts.
Samagra Shiksha: A centrally sponsored scheme by the Government of India to support States and Union Territories in various educational activities.
Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE): A system developed by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, to record data on school education indicators.
PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024: A survey conducted by the National Assessment Centre, PARAKH NCERT, to assess baseline competency development in students.
Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN): A scheme to provide one hot cooked meal in Government and Government-aided schools to students at the elementary level.
PM SHRI: A scheme for upgrading schools to showcase the components of the National Education Policy 2020.
National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme: A scholarship scheme to award scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to prevent dropouts at class VIII.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-4015
ANSWERED ON 18.08.2025
Drop outs in Primary/Upper Primary/Secondary Level Schools
4015. Dr. Kadiyam Kavya:
Md. Rakibul Hussain:
Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:
(a) the number of students who dropped-out of school at the primary, upper primary and secondary
levels during the last five years, State/gender/social category-wise including Dhubri district in Assam;
(b) whether the Government has drop-out data for Scheduled Tribes and children with disabilities and if
so, the details thereof, State-wise;
(c) whether any studies or inquiries have been conducted to investigate reasons for students dropping
out of school especially in districts of Assam;
(d) the details of remedial measures taken by the Government including scholarships and counselling;
(e) whether any tribal or minority-specific interventions are active in Dhubri and if so, the details
thereof; and
(f) the number of schools without functional toilets, drinking water, electricity and digital learning
infrastructure (Central, State, aided), State-wise and category-wise?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
(SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)
(a) & (b): The Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education has
developed the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) system to record data
on indicators of school education provided by all the States and Union Territories. As per UDISE+,
State/UT-wise, gender-wise and social category-wise dropout rate from the year 2019-20 to 2023-24 is
available at https://www.education.gov.in/en/parl_ques.
The PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, conducted in December 2024 by the National Assessment
Centre, PARAKH (NCERT), under the Ministry of Education, assessed baseline competency
development in students of Grades 3, 6, and 9 as per the National Education Policy 2020. Over 21.15
lakh students and 2.70 lakh teachers from more than 74,000 schools across 781 districts participated.
From Dhubri district, 3,103 students and 416 teachers from 115 schools took part. National, State, and
District-level report cards are available at https://dashboard.parakh.ncert.gov.in/en.
(c): As per report titled ‘Household Social Consumption on Education in India’, NSS (75th Round) for the
year 2017-18, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), the major reasons for drop-
out of school children are to supplement household income, to attend domestic chores, not interested in
studies, unable to cope up with studies, child suffering with some disability, poor health, education not
considered necessary by the parents, preparation of competitive examination, marriage etc.(d) & (e): Education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution and majority of the schools are under the
domain of respective State and UT Governments. Central Government assist States and UTs through the
Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha. Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided to
States and UTs for undertaking various activities, including opening/strengthening of new schools upto
senior secondary level, construction of school buildings & additional classrooms, setting up, up-
gradation and running of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, setting up of Netaji Subhash Chandra
Bose Avasiya Vidyalayas, Construction of hostels under PM-JANMAN, construction of hostels under
Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan for unsaturated ST population, free uniforms, free text
books, transport allowance and undertaking enrolment & retention drives.
Under ‘Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman’ (PM POSHAN) one hot cooked meal in Government
and Government aided schools is provided to students at the elementary level of education, including
Balvatika.
Also, under PM SHRI scheme, 382 PM SHRI schools from the State of Assam have been selected for
upgradation to showcase all the components of the National Education Policy 2020. These schools focus
on cognitive development and creating holistic and well- rounded individuals equipped with key 21st
century skills. The scheme focuses on creating an equitable, inclusive, and joyful learning environment
that caters to diverse backgrounds, multilingual needs, and varied academic abilities. These schools are
designed to engage students actively in their learning process, ensuring that every child feels welcomed,
cared for, and supported in a safe and stimulating environment.
The Central Sector Scheme 'National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme' is being implemented,
with the objective to award scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to
arrest their drop out at class VIII and encourage them to continue their education at secondary stage.
One lakh fresh scholarship is awarded to selected students of class IX every year and their continuation
/renewal in classes X to XII for study in State Government, Government-aided and Local body schools
under the scheme. The amount of scholarship is Rs. 12000/- per annum.
(f): As per UDISE+ 2023-24, State/UT and management wise percentage of schools with girl’s toilets,
boy’s toilet, drinking water, electricity, computer and internet facility for the year 2023-24 are available
at https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/statistics-new/udise_report_existing_23_24.pdf
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