Lok Sabha Question No. 2349 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-04
Subject: High Dropout Rates of Students
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Dharambir Singh, Shri Arun Kumar Sagar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2349 ANSWERED ON 04/08/2025

## High Dropout Rates of Students

2349. Shri Dharambir Singh:

Shri Arun Kumar Sagar:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  details  of  specific  reasons  identified  for  high  dropout  rates  of  Students especially in rural and economically weaker sections in the country; (b)  whether  the  Government  has  introduced  interventions  to  address  issues  like poverty, lack of infrastructure or digital divide as causes of dropout and if so, the details thereof; (c)  whether  there  is  any  plan  to  introduce  community  tracking  systems  or  Artificial Intelligency (AI) based alerts to prevent student dropouts in the country, especially in
- Bhiwani-Mahendragarh of Haryana and similar districts; and
- (d) whether the Government has taken or proposes to take any steps to check dropout rate  at  primary  education  level  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  if  not,  the  reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (d): The key reasons for drop out as identified by States/UTs include migration, socio  economic  condition  of  families,  domestic  responsibilities  on  children,  lack  of interest of children, poor health of children etc.  The Department of School Education and  Literacy  is  implementing  Samagra  Shiksha,  an  integrated  scheme  for  school education  in  2018-19  covering  the  entire  gamut  from  pre-school  to  class  XII.  The scheme has also been aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process.

Samagra  Shiksha  supports  all  States  and  UTs  for  different  interventions  like composite school grant to every school for providing a conducive learning environment, grants for  science  labs,  libraries,  sports  and  physical  activities,  support  for  Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan, ICT and digital initiatives, School Leadership development programme, remedial teaching for academically weaker students, etc.

In  order  to  reduce  dropout  the  scheme  includes  the  provision  of  opening  and strengthening  of  new  schools  up  to  senior  secondary  level;  construction  of  school buildings and additional classrooms; setting up, up-gradation and running of Kasturba Gandhi  Balika  Vidyalayas;  setting  up  of  Netaji  Subhash  Chandra  Bose  Avasiya Vidyalayas;  free  uniforms,  free  text  books,  transport  allowance  and  undertaking enrolment & retention drives, construction of hostels under Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh  Abhiyan  for  unsaturated  ST  population,  reimbursement  under  RTE  Act, various qualitative components, strengthening of teacher education and strengthening of DIETs/BRCs/CRCs, provision of ICT and digital interventions.

Government has also taken initiatives such as Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK) and implementation of Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) ID to monitor the drop out and other education indicators. VSK has been developed with strategies designed to enhance  the  effectiveness of monitoring of educational initiatives  and  their  eventual  outcomes.  A  key  feature  of  VSK  is  tracking  of  dropout students,  monitoring of  students  migrating  from  one  school  to  the  other,  progress  of learning outcomes  and  real-time monitoring of various interventions, aimed  at improving access, students' academic performance and enhancing teachers' accountability  in  schools.  APAAR,  as  part  of  the  'One  Nation,  One  Student  ID' programme, is a 12-digit lifelong student ID that is linked to Aadhar under a consented framework, as per provisions of the Aadhar Act.

In  Budget  2025-26,  Government has announced establishment of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Artificial Intelligence  (AI)  for  Education  with  a  total  outlay  of  Rs. 500 Cr. This CoE is envisaged to drive innovation, research and development in AIpowered  educational  tools,  to  ensure  sustainable,  inclusive  and  equitable  access  to quality education across the country.

The Samagra Shiksha scheme also gives attention to urban deprived children, children  affected  by  periodic  migration  and  children  living  in  remote  and  scattered habitations.  Under  the  scheme,  provision  has  been  made  for  giving  preference  to

Special  Focus  Districts  (SFDs),  Educationally  Backward  Blocks  (EEBs),  LWE  (Left Wing Extremism) affected districts, and aspirational districts while planning interventions.

In  addition,  support  is  provided  through  special  training  for  age-appropriate admission of Out of School Children and for the training of residential as well as nonresidential  older  children.  The  provision  of  seasonal  hostels  or  residential  camps, special  training  centres  at  worksites,  transport/  escort  facility  are  also  available  for bringing Out of School Children to the formal schooling structure.

Financial assistance upto ₹ 2000 per annum is being provided for Out of School Children of age group of 16-19 years, belonging to socio economically disadvantaged groups,  for  completing  their  education  through  NIOS/SIOS,  for  accessing  course materials and certification.

Under the student-oriented component for the children with special needs of the scheme, financial assistance is provided for identification and assessment of children with  special needs, aids and appliances, braille kits and books, appropriate teaching learning material and stipend to girl students with disability etc.

In  the  review  meetings,  national  workshops  and  directives  etc., all  States/UTs have been directed to reduce the dropout rate and number of Out of School Children (OoSC).  Through  communication  at  level  of  Minister,  States/UTs  have  also  been requested to participate in 'Bringing Children Back to School' campaign with the full and active engagement of School Management Committees and community involvement through Panchayati Raj Institutions.

Education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution and majority of schools fall under the purview of the State government. The States/UTs including Haryana follow different approaches for preventing dropouts which are specific to different regions or communities based on various factors responsible for dropouts. The need for schools and  also  the  infrastructural  facilities  in  schools,  to  reduce  drop  out  and  ensure retention,  are  worked  out  every  year  by  the  respective  State/Union  Territory  on incremental basis depending on their need and priority and reflected in  their  Annual Work plan & Budget (AWP&B). Financial assistance is also provided to States and UTs including  Haryana  for  undertaking  various  activities  to  ensure  universal  access  to education.

The  Department  of  School  Education  and  Literacy  developed  a  Management Information  System,  UDISE  starting  from  the  reference  year  2018-2019.  To  further revolutionize  the  school  data  collection  mechanism  and  to  monitor  learning  outcome and track dropped-out students, starting from 2022-2023, UDISE+ was revitalized to collect  individual  student-wise  data.  Similarly,  individual  teacher-wise  data  is  also being  collected  and  maintained  to  promote  Good  Governance. This  Department  has made the UDISE+ 2023-2024 report available in public domain and the same may be accessed at  'https://udiseplus.gov.in/#/en/page/publications'.

****