73% students in India drop out before higher secondary: Parliamentary panel
New Delhi : A parliamentary panel has flagged a “drastic decline” in schools and student numbers in India, noting that nearly 73 per cent students drop out before completing higher secondary.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the observation is part of the Tenth Report of the Committee on Estimates (2026-27) on “Budget and Policy aspects for providing Affordable and Quality Education in the Country”, presented to Lok Sabha.
Citing data, the committee said out of 10,92,671 schools in the country, 9,11,032 are primary and only 90,866 are higher secondary. Student enrolment also drops sharply from 6,18,45,033 in primary to 1,64,17,949 in higher secondary.
“The committee are concerned to note this drastic decline in number of schools and students as education levels rises,” the report said, adding that “nearly 73% of students drop out before finishing higher secondary.”
It strongly urged the Ministry of Education to prioritise upgrading existing primary and secondary schools into full higher secondary schools and to impress upon states to set up more secondary and higher secondary schools.
The panel also flagged severe gaps in infrastructure for Children with Special Needs (CwSN). As per data, only 5,23,143 out of 14,71,437 schools have toilets and 8,08,466 have ramps with handrails.
