India's Class 10 Dropout Rate At 21%, Odisha, Bihar Worst Hit

The dropout rate for Class 10 in the country as of the academic year 2021-22 was 20.6 per cent, with Odisha recording the highest rate, followed by Bihar, as stated by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in his response to a question in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Mr Pradhan, while responding to queries from DMK MP Kalanidhi Veeraswamy, provided specific dropout percentages. He mentioned that Odisha recorded a 49.9 per cent dropout rate, while Bihar had a 42.1 per cent dropout rate in Class 10.

In response to DMK MP Kalanidhi Veeraswamy's queries about the government's awareness of the Ministry of Education's analysis, which indicates that approximately 3.5 million students discontinue their education after Class 10, the education minister shared relevant information. The education minister informed the lower house that of 1,89,90,809 students who appeared for the Class 10 examination 2022, 29,56,138 students did not progress to the next class.

"The factors contributing to students' failure in examinations are diverse, including non-attendance at schools, challenges in understanding school instructions, lack of interest in studies, the difficulty level of question papers, a shortage of qualified teachers, insufficient support from parents, teachers, and schools, among others. Additionally, education falls within the concurrent list of the Constitution, and the majority of schools operate under the jurisdiction of the respective state and Union Territory governments," the education minister said.

The education ministry presented state-wise dropout rates for Class 10 over the past four years (2018-19 to 2021-22). In addition to Odisha and Bihar, states such as Meghalaya, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, and Telangana reported high dropout rates.

Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Manipur (no dropouts), Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi were among the states with dropout rates under 10 per cent. Over the past four years, Assam has shown improvement, with its dropout rate falling from 44 per cent to 28.3 per cent, whereas Odisha has had a downward trend, with its dropout rate rising from 12.8 per cent to 49.9 per cent in the same time frame.