Minimally disrupted schooling can reduce high drop-out rates
From 2014 to 2023, the education sector in India has witnessed notable strides in student enrolment and retention, with the gross enrolment ratio (GER) for secondary education increasing from 75.7% to 79.2%, and for higher secondary from 46.3% to 56.8%. Retention rates at the elementary level rose from 67.4% to 75.8%, and at the secondary level from 57.2% to 65.5%, signalling advances in educational engagement and policy efficacy.
Nevertheless, the fact that neither the GER nor retention rates have reached 100%, a target that the National Education Policy aims to achieve by 2030, underscores the challenges that exist. Attrition in the school system tends to occur at critical transition points, particularly during class changes at the 6th, 9th and 11th grades.
But why are there so many transition points? Not many know this, but in many states, students have to navigate through an array of 10 distinct school types, including high secondary schools (HSSs) for grades 6-12, HSSs for grades 1-12, HSSs for grades 9-12, secondary schools (SSs) for grades 1-10, HSSs for grades 11-12, SSs for grades 6-10, upper primary schools (UPSs) for grades 1-8, SSs for grades 9-10, UPSs for grades 6-8 and primary schools (PSs) for grades 1-5. Each school category represents a potential transition point, necessitating adjustments that can be challenging for students.
Data for 2023 from the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) also supports this hypothesis. It reveals a stark pattern of student attrition at pivotal transitional stages within the education system, with the most significant drop-outs occurring at junctures where students are required to change schools—specifically after classes 5, 8 and 10.
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