Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) may be the second-best university in India but it has a dropout rate of 12 percent every year. The dropout rate is higher among undergraduates, though the trend seems to be declining.
Of the total 2,406 students admitted in the academic session 2016-2017, 201 (8.35%) dropped out, according to the data obtained from the university.
According to JNU records, as many as 286 students (11.80%) of the 2,423 admitted in the year 2015-2016 dropped out from the university. When it comes to the 2014-15 batch, the dropouts rose to 432 (18.51%). The total number of students enrolled that academic year was 2,334.
When it comes to undergraduates, the dropout rate was highest in the 2014-15 batch (39.76%). It was followed by the 2015-16 batch (32.81) and the 2016-17 batch (17.27%). At the PG level, the highest was in the 2014-15 batch (13.29%) followed by the 2016-17 batch (10.85%) and the 2015-16 batch (9.96%).
An alarming 16.88% of M.Phil/Ph.D students dropped out from the 2014-15 academic session. The dropout rate was down in the subsequent batches — 7.56% in the 2015-16 batch and 2.69% in the 2016-17 batch.
For the last two years, JNU has been ranked as the second-best university as per the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) released by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
JNU was declared as the second-best university by the NIRF based on five-distinct parameters — Teaching, Learning and Resources, Research and Professional Practice, Graduation Outcomes, Outreach and Inclusivity and Perception.
JNU vice-chancellor Jagadesh Kumar believes the dropout rate is possibly substantial because of the “high academic pressure.”
“More than 200 students are dropping out every year. If out of 2,000 students, 200 are dropping out every year that means more than 10 per cent of the students admitted are leaving. Now, why the students are dropping out? Perhaps, the academic pressure is so high. Perhaps, they need some help.” Kumar said. “And, if you can hand identify those people and provide some academic help, we can help them out,” he added.