Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have the maximum high school dropout rates, with 11 states in total contributing to 85% of school dropouts, according to an analysis exercise carried out by the Ministry of Education (MoE), stated a report in The New Indian Express. 

This translates to 30 lakh Class X students in these states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu, not completing their education. Additionally, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Assam, West Bengal, Haryana, and Chhattisgarh also have alarming records of dropout rates among Class X students.

The dropout rate for Class XII students is 77%, accounting for 18 lakh students in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Gujarat. These findings were revealed by the Union Education Ministry, which assessed the challenges faced by students in Class X and XII exam board results across different states.

Different syllabi, different state boards 
One of the challenges highlighted by the ministry is the significant variations in performance among students belonging to different boards. Moreover, there are substantial discrepancies in pass percentages, lack of a level playing field in terms of educational standards and mobility across panels, and barriers for national-level entrance tests such as Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), Common University Entrance Test (CUET), and National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) due to the different syllabi followed by state boards.

The study revealed that although girls outperform boys, parents’ preference for education and expenditure is still biased towards boys in Classes X and XII. The report stated, “Thirty-five lakh students of Class X are not proceeding to Class 11, 27.5 lakh students fail, and 7.5 lakh students don’t appear for the exam.”