ગુજરાતી
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School dropout rate increased by 341 percent in one year
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, December 11, 2025
According to data presented by the central government in Parliament, 2.40 lakh students are not attending school. This shows the failure of the BJP government. Gujarat has the highest number of out-of-school girls in the country. In 2025-26, Gujarat ranks first in the country with 2.4 lakh out-of-school children. Following Gujarat are Assam with 1,50,906 and Uttar Pradesh with 99,218 children.
28% of the total out-of-school children in India are from Gujarat. The total number of out-of-school students in India is 849,991.
The state government has seen a 341% increase in the number of out-of-school children in just one year. The economic situation is such that poor families are forced to make their children work. 1 crore students are studying in government primary schools in Gujarat from classes 1 to 8. Of these, 1,68,000 or 2% of students have been identified through the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) category so far.
The Gujarat model is a sham.
Out-of-school children
54,451 in 2024-25
2.40
A massive increase of 341% in 2025-26.
1 lakh 5 thousand 20 students have dropped out of school.
The state’s education system has collapsed. This is ruining the future of the children. The BJP government is doing politics in the name of development. Gujarat is not on the path of ‘development’ but on the path of ‘destruction’. The first three BJP governments of Keshubhai and Suresh Mehta were good. The governments of Modi, Anandiben, Rupani, and Bhupendra Patel have jeopardized education.
This clearly shows the mismanagement of education funds. The expenditure in 2024-25 was ₹219984.75 lakh, or ₹2199 crore. ₹2199 crore was spent on strengthening education.
This money is going elsewhere, which clearly shows corruption and financial mismanagement.
The government will also spend a huge amount on the school re-entry campaign it will now run.
The government wanted to achieve 100% enrollment in secondary education by 2030. But the situation is different.
One year ago
In 2024-25, Gujarat ranked third in school dropouts. 23.08% of children in the state did not go to school after class 8. Students do not get admission in class 9.
2022
In October 2022, the government announced that school dropouts in Gujarat had decreased by 92% in 20 years.
In 2002, the dropout ratio in Gujarat was 37.22 percent. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel announced that it had decreased to 3.07 percent in 2022. The state has been running the Praveshotsav (enrollment festival) for 23 years. To prevent dropouts, 100 percent data entry of registered children is done in all private, grant-in-aid, and government schools. The government’s claim that parents are not withdrawing their children from their ongoing studies has proven false. In 2024, 1.5 lakh children dropped out of school in the state. Lok Sabha, July 21, 2025: The Ministry of Education informed the Lok Sabha that the dropout rate in primary education (classes 1 to 5) was zero in 2021-22 and 2022-23. It increased to 0.1 percent in 2023-24. It was stated in the Lok Sabha that the dropout rate in upper primary (Classes 6 to 8) was 4.95 percent in 2021-22, 5.8 percent in 2022-23, and 4.2 percent in 2023-24.
The dropout rate in secondary school (Classes 9 and 10) was 17.85 percent in 2021-22, 23.3 percent in 2022-23, and 21 percent in 2023-24.
This was higher than the Indian average of 14.1 percent.
Secondary school dropout rates in different states in 2023-24:
Gujarat: 21 percent
Chandigarh: 2.9 percent
Kerala: 3.4 percent
Himachal Pradesh: 4.9 percent
Punjab: 6 percent
Uttarakhand: 7 percent
Tamil Nadu: 7.7 percent
Puducherry: 7.8 percent
Uttar Pradesh: 8.7 percent
Maharashtra: 10.1 percent
Delhi: 10.4 percent
Andhra Pradesh: 12.5 percent
Jharkhand: 15.2 percent
Teacher vacancies exist. There is a shortage of classrooms.
Poor situation in 7 districts
According to details released by the Education Department itself, the dropout rate is more than 30 percent in 7 districts. A dropout rate of 1.17 percent was observed in Classes 1 to 5.
2.98 percent in Classes 6 to 8.
A dropout rate of 6.19 percent was observed in Classes 11-12.
In Classes 9-10, the highest dropout rate was observed in Botad district at 35.45 percent and the lowest in Rajkot Municipality at 8.53 percent.
On February 15, 2022, district education officers were ordered to take action for the education of children who had dropped out of school, who were wandering, roaming, and begging. A nodal officer was to be appointed at the district level. But nothing happened.
Dropout ratio of boys and girls
The Gujarat Education Department reported that in 2022, the percentage of students who dropped out after Class 8 was 24.7 percent, while the percentage for boys was 21.24 percent.
The total dropout rate in Classes 9-10 was 23.28 percent. In Classes 11-12, the dropout rate for boys was 7.09 percent, while for girls it was 5.13 percent.
More than 1 lakh children are dropouts in Ahmedabad, and their whereabouts are unknown.
In Ahmedabad district, the dropout rate was 1.06 percent in Classes 1-5, 1.34 percent in Classes 6-8, 22.44 percent in Classes 9-10, and 2.25 percent in Classes 11-12.
In the Ahmedabad Municipal Urban Area, it was 0.75 percent in Classes 1-5, 3.04 percent in Classes 6-8, 18.68 percent in Classes 9-10, and 2.73 percent in Classes 11-12.
Dwarka – 35.5%
Patan – 33.56%
Dang – 33.39%
Botad – 32.83%
Kutch – 32.93%
Vadodara – 31%
95%
Kheda – 30.25%
AI – AI
The Education Department has developed an AI-based early warning system to identify students likely to drop out of school in June 2025. Approximately 168,000 students at risk of dropping out have been identified. During the School Entrance Festival 2025, the identified students and
their parents were called in to explain the importance of schooling for the child’s progress. The government stated that the Gujarat government has set a target of 100% registration of eligible children in the 17th School Entrance Examination, for which the state government will integrate the Health Department’s birth registration data and the Child Tracking System of the Vidya Samiksha Kendra. By doing this, the state government will be able to see how many children have been born in the state and how many of them have enrolled in school. This time, the state government will re-admit children from classes 2 to 8 who have dropped out of school in the last few years to the correct class and will also ensure 100% data entry of children admitted to all private, grant-in-aid, and government schools to prevent absenteeism, possible dropouts, etc.
Private School Dropouts
In the 4 years leading up to 2022, 11.3 lakh students in Gujarat left private schools and enrolled in government schools. In 2020-21, 2.85 lakh, 3.49 lakh, and 2.24 lakh students left private schools and moved to government schools. Due to inability to afford expensive fees, 55,605 students left private schools and enrolled in Ahmedabad Municipal School Board schools in 10 years.
In 2022, 11.3 lakh students in Gujarat left private schools and enrolled in government schools in 4 years. In 2020-21, 2.85 lakh, 3.49 lakh, and 2.24 lakh students left private schools and moved to government schools. Causes
Educational, social, and poor economic conditions, including poverty, lead to children being withdrawn from school or forced to drop out. Boys drop out because their families cannot afford their education. They have to stay home to help their parents with household chores, leading them to abandon their studies. They leave their education incomplete because they have to help their parents in farming or the family business. Students drop out not only due to financial reasons but also due to academic reasons. They drop out because they are unable to get admission to higher standards. Girls are withdrawn from school because they do not feel the need for further education. 25 percent of students who drop out have no interest in studies. Policymakers and educationists have no solution to this problem.
Social factors such as child marriage, lack of awareness about girls’ education, caring for younger siblings, shortage of female teachers, and lack of toilet facilities for girls in schools are also responsible for school dropouts. Teenage girls are irregular in school or drop out due to menstruation.
Backward sections of society such as Dalits, tribals, socially and educationally backward communities, and minorities are also deprived of education.
Night Schools
Chief Minister Narendra Modi had announced and implemented the opening of night schools in primary school buildings across the state from May 30, 2010. However, this has been discontinued. A grand announcement was made, but 15 years later, Modi’s plan has turned into a nightmare.
Solutions
This problem cannot be solved until the root causes such as poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, parental apathy towards education, and gender disparity are permanently addressed. The National Education Policy also suggests some solutions. Improving the credibility and quality of government schools, free and universal education, scholarships, mid-day meals, building girls’ hostels, providing special facilities for children of migrant workers, safe and quality schooling, sufficient and trained teachers, and effective and adequate basic educational facilities are solutions that can only work if the participation of children and parents is ensured in addressing this issue.
Facilities and teachers need to be provided in 32,013 primary schools across 18,000 villages.
Government Negligence
Single-Teacher Schools and Student Numbers
Year – Schools – Students
2022-23 – 1754 – 71506
2023-24 – 2462 – 87322
2024-25 – 2936 – 105134
The number of single-teacher schools in Gujarat increased from 1754 to 2936 in 3 years.
5,000 teachers were reduced.
In 2025, 63 schools in Gujarat had zero student enrollment. 78 teachers were kept unemployed in these 63 schools.
The number of students decreasing in Gujarat in 2025 is:
45 lakh in classes 1 to 5,
31 lakh in classes 6 to 8,
17 lakh in classes 9 to 10,
11 lakh in classes 11 and 12.
Out of 45 lakh students in class 1, only 11 lakh students reach class 12. 34 lakh students dropped out of school in 12 years.
There are 40,000 teachers in Gujarat.
There are 14,562 schools where teaching takes place in a single classroom.
Gujarat lacks 40,000 classrooms.
Facilities
In July 2025, students of Bharat Nagar Primary School in Bhuj were studying in a community hall due to a lack of facilities. Therefore, they collectively dropped out of school. Chief Minister
On June 22, 2022, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said, “School admissions…”
Thanks to this program, the dropout rate in Gujarat has seen a significant decrease of 91.89 percent over the past 20 years. In 2002, the dropout rate in Gujarat was 37.22%, which has decreased to just 3.07% in 2022. Our priority is that every child in the state receives an education. Prime Minister Narendra Modi started the school enrollment program in 2003. We are proud that Gujarat is the only state that organizes such a unique program every year and ensures that children get admission to government schools.”
Education Minister Vaghani
On June 22, 2022, Education Minister Jitu Vaghani said, “Every child in Gujarat should receive an education. Our goal is to provide quality education. These children who come to study in primary school are the future of our state and country. Therefore, not a single child should be deprived of education. The state government’s School Enrollment Festival program has proven to be completely successful so far. In 2022, our target is to enroll 100% of eligible children.” (Google translation from Gujarati)
