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Parliamentary panel flags 73% dropout before higher secondary
A parliamentary panel has flagged that nearly 73% of students drop out before finishing higher secondary. The Estimates Committee, in its Tenth Report presented to Lok Sabha on August 12, 2026, cited…
The Story in Brief
A parliamentary panel has flagged that nearly 73% of students drop out before finishing higher secondary. The Estimates Committee, in its Tenth Report presented to Lok Sabha on August 12, 2026, cited Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2024-25 data to show a drastic decline in schools and students as education levels rise.
India has 9,11,032 primary schools but only 90,866 higher secondary schools. Student enrolment drops from 6.18 crore at primary level to 1.64 crore at higher secondary. The committee strongly urged the education ministry to upgrade existing schools into full higher secondary schools and press states to set up more, calling the drop-off rate alarming.
The Indian Opinion
The panel’s numbers confirm what many parents know: children drop out because higher secondary schools are too far or too few. The real test is whether the ministry shifts spending from poorly utilised schemes, only ₹2.60 lakh of ₹482 lakh allocated for special-needs toilets was spent, towards building new schools. Will the next budget show a concrete plan to upgrade at least 50,000 primary schools to higher secondary level? That would prove intent.
Sources (2): ndtv.com, thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
