Facts on Dropouts in India
Let us take a look at some facts on dropouts in India.
Dropouts from 10th Grade
According to the reports published in 2016 by UNESCO Institute for Statistics and Global Education Monitoring, about 47 million youth dropped out of the school by 10th grade.
Reduced Enrolment in 11th Grade
The percentage of students who took admissions for the 10th grade was 77% but the percentage of students who took admission for 11th grade was just 52% in the subsequent year as per the report published by Institute for Policy Research Studies (PRS) – New Delhi.
Dropouts from Age Group of 6 to 13 Years
Although, there is an overall increase in gross enrolment ratio and along with improved access to each level of education, 6 million children belonging to the age group of 6 to 13 years dropped out of school as per the survey conducted by ministry of Human Resource Development in the year 2014.
Leading States in India
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan are the top 3 states having the maximum number of school dropouts. The number dropouts in Uttar Pradesh are 1.6 million. Such states also include states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. These states constitute 46% of the entire population of children of age 11 to 16 years who are dropouts. According to the Census report, it comprises over 51 million children.
Absenteeism
Not only the rate of dropouts is high, but also children do not attend school on regular basis. So, one of the reasons behind children dropping out from schools could be lack of interest in attending school.
Effects on Employment
Lack of education lead dropouts choose to get engaged in unskilled or semi-skilled employment opportunities. They start working at a very young age, the age at which they should be studying in school. As a result they cannot earn adequate income for supporting their families.
