Great News! Secondary school dropout rates have dropped in 61% of India's states

Data released by the MHRD states that the dropout rate among secondary school students have gone down in 22 States and Union Territories

The secondary school dropout rates in 61 per cent of Indian States and Union Territories have gone down in the academic year 2017-18 compared to the previous academic year, data released by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Of the 36 states and Union Territories, it has gone down in 22 of them.

The data was revealed by the HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' while answering a question posed by BJP MP Amar Shankar Sable in the parliament. Of all the States and Union Territories, Assam has the highest dropout rate among Primary and Secondary schools — 10 per cent and 33.7 per cent respectively. In the academic year 2016-17, the dropout rate in the secondary school category was 27.6 per cent. It has now gone up by 6.1 per cent. The trend is the same in the primary school category too in Assam, where it has gone up from 5.6 per cent to 10.1 per cent.

Stating the reason behind the dropout rate, Pokhriyal said, "Some of the reasons for school children dropping out are poverty, poor health and child labour." He also spoke about the government's initiatives to bring the students back to school. "Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha, financial assistance is provided to the States and UTs for various activities to reduce the number of dropouts. Financial assistance is also provided for Inclusive Education of children with special needs. The government also provides mid-day-meals to students at the elementary level of education."