School Dropout Rates in India: A Complete Guide!

Learning plays a key role in students’ lives. For social and economic development of students, schools offer a positive learning environment for years. 

But, we often hear about school dropout scenarios especially at higher grades. Increasing school dropout rates in India is a concerning challenge everyone must talk about. 

In this blog, we will look at what a school dropout means, presents the latest from reliable sources, major causes, and outlines government initiatives to prevent dropout rates. 

What Is School Dropout?

School dropout refers to a child who leaves a formal schooling or program like middle school or high school before completing the course. 

In simple words, an individual started a course but dropped out after only a few months. 

School Dropout Rates in India: Latest Survey

The latest data of school dropout rates in India is based on UDISE+ 2024-25 data which provides downloadable reports for confirmation:

• The Government of India’s UDISE+ 2024-25 also popular as Unified District Information System for Education states that the dropout rates in: 
  • The primary level is around 2.3%.
  • Upper-primary level is around 3.5%.
  • At the secondary level it is around 8.2%.

• The ASER or Annual Status of Education Report is often used for tracking enrolment and learning in rural India. Go through the latest ASER 2024 official report for detailed information. 

Major Causes of School Dropout in India

To understand the school dropout in India let’s go through some of the major causes: 

1. Economic Factors

One of the major causes of school dropout in India is economic factors. Reasons like families under financial stress lead children to become labour/workers.

Economic factors for rural kids also include school distance and transport cost. This increases the dropout rate. 

2. Social and Cultural Factors

Social and cultural factors also play an important reason for dropout in which gender norms and early marriage limit continuous learning . 

It also happens due to discrimination based on caste and social exclusion. 

3. Academic-Related Issues

Sometimes, academic-related issues such as poor learning environment, lack of experience, shortage of teachers etc increase the rate of dropout in India. 

4. Psychological and Personal Factors

Psychological and personal factors are one of the causes of school drop out. For example, lack of motivation, bullying, mental health problems etc. 

Government Initiatives to Reduce Dropout Rates

To reduce dropout rates in India, the government has sponsored programmes. Some common examples are;

1. Mid-Day Meal Scheme

Mid-day meal scheme also popular as PM POSHAN is an initiative in which schools provide cooked food to increase enrolment and attendance. 

It is beneficial for parents who are unable to feed their children. 

2. RTE (Right to Education Act)

RTE is designed by the government which aims to provide free and compulsory elementary education to children aged 6 to 14.

It is an effective way to motivate parents and students to improve drop rate in India. 

3. Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan

In this initiative, students from elementary to senior secondary are motivated not to drop out from school. 

The objective of this scheme is to:

• Improve the quality of education
• Promote equity and inclusion
• Enhance learning outcomes

4. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao

It is a popular campaign by the government of India aimed for girls’ education and survival. 

The scheme is an effective approach to understand the importance of educating girls. 

5. Scholarship Programmes

There are many central and state-level scholarship programmes in different domains which help to reduce dropout rates. 

Dropout Rates by Grade Level

The given below information are reliable sources taken from UDISE+ 2023-24 and UDISE+ 2024-25 showcase the dropout rates by grade level:

1. Pre-Primary School Dropout Rate in India

The dropout rate of pre-primary school fell from 3.7% in 2023 and 24 to 2.3% in 2024 and 25.

2. Primary School Dropout Rate in India

The rate decreased from 5.2% in 2023 and 24 to 3.5% in 2024 and 25.

3. Secondary School Dropout Rate in India

The rate decreased from 10.9% in 2023 and 24 to 8.2% in 2024 and 25.

However, the more recent and comprehensive official data is still emerging. 

State-wise School Dropout Rate in India

Given below is a table represented by  the Education For All In India on state-wise school dropout rate in India.

State / All India	Primary (Grades 1–5)			Upper Primary (Grades 6–8)			Elementary (Grades 1–8)
	Boys %	Girls %	Total	Boys %	Girls %	Total	Boys %	Girls %	Total
India	57.4	42.6	2145787	51.3	48.7	3331436	53.7	46.3	5477223
A & islands	68.0	32.0	192	100	0.0	71	76.7	23.3	263
Andhra Pradesh	100	0.0	5647	64.1	35.9	23682	0.4	0.2	29329
Arunachal Pradesh	53.5	46.5	7914	51.2	48.8	5461	52.5	47.5	13376
Assam	58.5	41.5	211423	61.2	38.8	146652	59.6	40.4	358075
Bihar	52.6	47.4	1122631	50.2	49.8	1646670	51.2	48.8	2769301
Chandigarh			0	100.0	0.0	307	100.0	0.0	307
Chhattisgarh	58.2	41.8	44526	59.7	40.3	76686	59.1	40.9	121212
D and N haveli & D and D	57.1	42.9	1015	54.8	45.2	1131	1.0	0.8	2146
Delhi			0	53.2	46.8	7000	53.2	46.8	7000
Goa	48.9	51.1	1021	56.3	43.7	786	52.1	47.9	1808
Gujarat	69.3	30.7	8317	45.0	55.0	130496	46.5	53.5	138813
Haryana	73.4	26.6	28645	64.4	35.6	68746	67.0	33.0	97391
Himachal Pradesh	0.0	0.0	0	65.8	34.2	1861	65.8	34.2	1861
Jammu and Kashmir	61.5	38.5	17047	51.6	48.4	18463	20.2	15.6	35511
Jharkhand	66.4	33.6	29505	52.9	47.1	173608	54.9	45.1	203113
Karnataka	57.7	42.3	92924	56.5	43.5	85214	57.1	42.9	178138
Kerala	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

State / All India	Primary (Grades 1–5)			Upper Primary (Grades 6–8)			Elementary (Grades 1–8)
	Boys %	Girls %	Total	Boys %	Girls %	Total	Boys %	Girls %	Total
Ladakh	58.8	41.2	962	62.1	37.9	695	60.2	39.8	1657
Lakshadweep	70.2	29.8	118	100.0	0.0	92	83.2	16.8	210
Madhya Pradesh	65.2	34.8	65100	54.0	46.0	272164	56.1	43.9	337265
Maharashtra	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	33636	61.5	38.5	33636
Manipur	51.9	48.1	13081	57.1	42.9	4911	53.3	46.7	17991
Meghalaya	55.7	44.3	36969	52.3	47.7	28563	68.9	58.1	65532
Mizoram	54.3	45.7	4391	58.3	41.7	3856	56.1	43.9	8247
Nagaland	54.7	45.3	7363	55.0	45.0	5285	54.8	45.2	12648
Odisha	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	40911	113.4	82.4	40911
Puducherry	64.1	35.9	1068	57.1	42.9	803	61.1	38.9	1871
Punjab	100.0	0.0	1199	61.4	38.6	35115	62.7	37.3	36314
Rajasthan	56.4	43.6	610302	55.7	44.3	288938	56.2	53.8	899240
Sikkim	68.2	31.8	1103	60.6	39.4	1371	64.0	36.0	2474
Tamil Nadu	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Telangana	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	917	37.1	0.0	917
Tripura	73.4	26.6	1682	55.6	44.4	7001	59.1	40.9	8683
Uttar Pradesh	52.6	47.4	343062	40.9	59.1	398563	46.3	53.7	741626
Uttarakhand	100.0	0.0	1577	60.5	39.5	12995	1.3	0.7	14573
West Bengal	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Important note: The data in the table is calculated based on information provided in the UDISEPlus report in various years.

Dropout Rate and Out of School Girls in India​

It is often seen that the school dropout rate in India for girls and boys are not the same. 

Over 65.7 lakh children dropped out in the last five years, with nearly half (29.8 lakh) being adolescent girls, notes a December 2025 India Today report.

The above mentioned state-wise school dropout rate in India in 2022 to 2024 represented the difference in detail. 

The data in the table includes the difference in drop rates based on gender of primary, upper primary, and elementary school students. 

This is due to various factors in different regions such as early marriage, safety concerns, household responsibilities, and inadequate sanitation etc. 

To reduce the dropout rate, explore the importance of girls education in the 21st century. 

Conclusion

To empower knowledge and skills education is essential for each individual. However, dropping out from school in India is not a good decision. 

With time, the Indian education system is taking essential measures to reduce the dropping rate. 

Some government schemes like RTE, mid-day meal scheme, and scholarship programmes are effective solutions. 
Other common ways to reduce drop out rates in India for both boys and girls are universal access to education, inclusive curriculum , flexible learning pathways and vocational education .

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