Nearly 73% students drop out before finishing higher secondary: Parliament panel flags ‘drastic decline’ in schools

Nearly 73 per cent students drop out before finishing higher secondary, a parliamentary panel said flaggging ‘drastic decline’ in the number of schools and students.

The recommendation is part of the Tenth Report (Eighteenth Lok Sabha) of the Committee on Estimates (2026-27) on "Budget and Policy aspects for providing Affordable and Quality Education in the Country including Review of Central Board of Secondary Education", presented to Lok Sabha on Wednesday, news agency PTI said.

The committee noted that the number of schools at Secondary and Higher Secondary levels are very less when compared with the number of schools at Primary and Upper Primary levels.

It said as per the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2024-25, out of the total 10,92,671 schools, including all the government and government aided schools, there are 9,11,032 schools at primary level, 4,12,805 schools at upper primary level, 1,61,808 schools at secondary level, and only 90,866 schools at higher secondary level in the country.

UDISE 2025-26 report

According to the UDISE 2025-26 report released by the Ministry of Educationon 7 July, Enrolment in government schools fell by nearly 86 lakh between 2023-24 and 2025-26 while private unaided recognised schools added more than 88 lakh students during the same period. UDISE (Unified District Information System for Education Plus) is the Centre's official digital database for the education sector.

With regard to the number of students enrolled, in primary classes there are 6,18,45,033 students and 4,08,93,978 students in upper primary classes from 6 to 8, which reduces to 2,36,68,220 in secondary, and further reduces to 1,64,17,949 in higher secondary classes.

"The committee are concerned to note this drastic decline in number of schools and students as education levels rises," it said.

"From the above information, the Committee note that out of over 1 million government schools, the vast majority are only primary schools, and nearly 73% of students drop out before finishing higher secondary," it added.

‘Prioritise upgrading existing schools’

The committee strongly urged the Ministry to prioritise upgrading existing primary and secondary schools into full higher secondary schools to ensure a high school is physically accessible to students belonging to different communities and to arrest student drop-off rate.

"The Committee are of the view that there is an urgent need to increase the number of schools at secondary and higher secondary levels," it said.

Considering that education is placed in the Concurrent List of the Constitution with most schools under the jurisdiction of the State Governments and UT Administration, the committee desired the Ministry to impress upon all the State/UT Government to take steps for setting up of more secondary and higher secondary schools so as to increase the enrolment of students in the country.

The committee noted that in order to achieve the objective of inclusive education, the Ministry of Education provides financial support to State Governments and Union Territories to strengthen infrastructure and human resources for inclusive education of Divyang students under the Samagra Shiksha scheme.

To improve physical accessibility of schools, the scheme includes specific provisions for the creation of barrier-free and differently-abled-friendly infrastructure, such as ramps, handrails and accessible toilets, so that children with disabilities can move safely and participate fully in school activities.

On the Ministry's approach to promoting education for Divyang children, the committee noted that it is rights based, inclusive and holistic.

On Rights of Persons with Disabilities

It said the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPnD) Act, 2016 provides that children with benchmark disabilities are entitled to free education up to the age of 18 years.

The NEP 2020 emphasises a Zero Rejection Policy for children with disabilities, ensuring that no child is denied schooling on account of disability. The policy also underscores the importance of preparing and training teachers to handle inclusive classrooms effectively, it said.

"In view of the above, the Committee strongly recommend the Ministry to adhere to yearly targets of budget utilisation and execution of CwSN related projects in a time bound manner," it said.

The committee recommended the Ministry provide safe and accessible infrastructure to Divyang students in a time-bound manner to achieve the objective of inclusivity in education.

The Ministry should also assess the requirement of special educators across the country and complete their recruitment at the earliest, it said.

(With PTI inputs)