An analysis of school dropouts in Gujarat has identified the lack of admission opportunities at higher levels as a key reason students leave school at different stages. A study by the state education department reveals that approximately 4 lakh students drop out due to the non-availability of admission at the next level. In contrast, schools offering classes from 1 to 12 record nearly 100% student retention.
State Government's Plan to Address the Issue
To tackle this problem, the state government has drawn up a plan to upgrade schools across Gujarat. According to the proposed action plan, schools currently offering Classes 1 to 5 and those with Classes 6 to 8 may be merged to function as Class 1 to 8 schools. Similarly, schools running Classes 6 to 10 and 9 to 12 will be upgraded to offer Classes 6 to 12. Schools operating Classes 1 to 10, 9 and 10, and 11 and 12 can be upgraded to run Classes 1 to 12.
A senior official stated, "Around 4 lakh students leave schools due to the non-availability of admission at higher levels. Student retention in schools running Classes 1 to 12 is nearly 100%, while it declines in other categories. Because of the multi-school structure, 86.3% of students are required to undergo the admission process at least three times during their schooling."
Current Education System Statistics
Sources indicate that Gujarat's education system includes 53,355 schools, around 1.2 crore students, and 3.9 lakh teachers. "Owing to the pyramidal structure of schools, only 16.5% offer higher secondary education. This clearly highlights the need to increase the number of schools providing higher secondary education," a source said.
Another source added, "Upgrading upper primary schools into integrated schools will be a major focus in the coming days, as most dropouts occur at Classes 6, 9 and 11, which coincide with fresh admissions." While most cases will involve rearranging classes, officials noted that minor gaps in core infrastructure will also need to be addressed at the earliest.
