ગુજરાતી
English
77 Percent of Youth Do Not Attend College
Students Are Dropping Out of School
Ahmedabad, May 22, 2026
The dire state of education in Gujarat is starkly revealed by official statistics for the 2025-26 academic year.
**Schools Shut Down – Teacher Count Declines**
Amidst a shortage of teachers, the number of schools operating without any students is on the rise. A report by NITI Aayog—the policy think tank established by India’s Narendra Modi government—released in May 2026, states that 2,936 schools are being run by a single teacher each. In these schools, a solitary teacher is responsible for teaching all subjects across grades 1 through 8. Furthermore, 63 schools have not a single enrolled student, yet salaries continue to be paid to 78 teachers assigned to them.
Additionally, 11,000 primary schools are being managed by just two teachers each.
According to the Socio-Economic Assessment for 2025-26, the number of primary schools declined by 320 during the 2024-25 academic year—dropping from 44,288 to 43,968. This reduction coincided with a decrease of 87,000 students and a loss of 4,207 teachers; out of an initial workforce of 328,665 teachers, only 325,000 remain. The Congress party claims that a total of 5,612 schools have been shut down. Over the past decade, 8 percent of government schools have closed, while the number of private schools has increased by 15 percent. Primary schools currently face a shortage of 42,000 classrooms.
**Expenditure Rises, Educational Outcomes Decline**
Despite the closure of schools, educational expenditure has actually increased. However, these funds have yielded no tangible results; despite an outlay of ₹2,199 crore, 240,000 children have dropped out of school. Furthermore, despite a budgetary allocation of ₹63,184 crore, 70,000 teaching positions remain vacant.
**Infrastructure: Electricity, Computers, and Internet—Highest in the Nation**
Ironically, in terms of infrastructure—specifically access to electricity, computers, and the internet—Gujarat ranks highest in the country.
**Illiterate Children: 240,000 Children Do Not Attend School**
A staggering 240,000 children do not attend school. In the 2025-26 academic year, Gujarat recorded the highest increase in the number of out-of-school children compared to any other state in the country. There has been a 341% increase in the number of children not attending school over the past year. In 2024, the number of illiterate children not attending school stood at 54,541; this figure surged to 2.4 lakh in 2025. Meanwhile, the whereabouts of 6.4 lakh children remain unknown, as they have not been tracked.
**School Dropouts**
1.1 lakh girls have dropped out of school. Approximately 2.3 lakh—or 27.6%—of children drop out of school before reaching Standard 10.
Out of every 100 children, only 62 manage to reach Standard 12. The Union Education Secretary stated this fact in May 2026.
The secondary-level dropout rate stands at 16.9%, which is significantly higher than the national average of 11.5%.
**Decline in GER:**
In primary education, the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) was 93.1% in 2021-22; this figure dropped to 79.6% in 2024-25. This represents the most significant decline in education witnessed across the country, occurring in Gujarat.
**Quality of Learning**
The GER for primary students is merely 72.5%, which is the lowest in the country.
The GER for higher secondary education is 47.3%, falling below the national average of 58.4%.
PTR (Pupil-Teacher Ratio): Secondary level stands at 27:1, and Higher Secondary at 25:1—both figures are higher than the national average.
The situation is most dire in the Bharuch district, where 25.41% of students are unable to solve mathematical problems related to daily life.
*These statistics are derived from the NITI Aayog report of May 2026, data presented in the Lok Sabha, and the Gujarat Socio-Economic Survey Report 2025-26.*
**Admissions**
Last year (2024-25), approximately 10 to 12 lakh children were enrolled in primary education across Gujarat. Gujarat Board
7.50 lakh students appeared for the Class 10 examinations. The total enrollment in Class 10 stood at 16.5 lakh students.
College Admissions
Gujarat’s Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in Higher Education for 2021 was 22.7%. The national average for 2025 is 32.5%.
This implies that out of every 100 young people in the 18–23 age group, only 23 actually attend college.
Not Attending College
In the 2025–26 academic year, there were 3 to 4 lakh students enrolled in colleges. Of these, 3 lakh students successfully obtained their degrees.
This directly indicates that 12 lakh students are unable to complete their college education.
Gujarat ranks 10th in the country.
Uttar Pradesh: 70.68 Lakh
Maharashtra: 50.22 Lakh
Tamil Nadu: 39.53 Lakh
Gujarat: 20.93 Lakh*
There are 3,13,906 students enrolled in government colleges and 9,60,615 students in private colleges. (Google translation from Gujarati; please refer to the original report.)
