Telangana school dropout rate falls by five percent: New report

Hyderabad: Telangana government has a reason to cheer after the school drop-out rate decreased by more than five percent in the last fiscal.

According to the data provided by the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE), the drop-out rate of both boys and girls at the secondary level was recorded at 17.1% in 2017-18 compared to 22.5% in 2016-2017. However, the data for 2017-18 is provisional and may change.

The dropout out rate is less at the primary level than the secondary level. Drop out rate at the primary level was 3.5% in 2017-18 compared to 7.6% in 2016-17

The data further revealed that the drop-out rate of boys was more compared to girls. An official of the education department said there is a lack of awareness among parents, which results in a substantial dropout from schools. “We have seen how parents force their sons and daughters to quit school. Girls are married off and boys are asked to supplement the family income,” he said.

According to Union Ministry of Human resources and Development, the reasons for students’ dropout include “poverty, child suffering from poor health, a child too young to be attending school, child needed to help in domestic work etc.”

As far as Andhra Pradesh is concerned, the secondary school drop-out rate is at 22.9% for 2017-2018. While the information for the previous year is not available, the number has increased from 2015-16, when the dropout rate was 15.71 %.

Interestingly, zero dropouts was recorded in primary schools of Andhra Pradesh in 2017-2018. The number shows a steady decrease from 6.7% in 2015-16 and 1.9% in 2016-17.

Among all the states, Assam ranks first with the highest dropout rate of 33.7% at the secondary level, closely followed by Bihar at 32%.