Karnataka has recorded a secondary school dropout rate of 22.2%, a rate that is significantly higher than the national average of 14.1%, according to the latest report by the Union Ministry of Education.

The data, part of the 2023–24 review released on Wednesday, places Karnataka among the states with the highest dropout rates in Classes 9 and 10. Other states with similarly high figures include Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tripura, Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu.

Among southern states, Karnataka lags compared to its neighbouring southern states. Kerala leads with the lowest dropout rate at just 3.41%, followed by Tamil Nadu at 7.68%, Telangana at 11.43%, and Andhra Pradesh at 12.48%. Only Bihar (25.63%) and Assam (25.07%) report worse dropout figures than Karnataka.

In response, the Union Ministry has called on high-burden states to conduct door-to-door surveys in school catchment areas to identify and re-enrol out-of-school children. These findings were discussed during the Project Approval Board (PAB) meetings held under the Samagra Shiksha programme for 2025–26, conducted between April and May this year.

A senior official from the Ministry highlighted that the high dropout rate poses a major obstacle to achieving the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 goal of 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) by 2030.

Meanwhile, the report also touched upon figures from other regions. In Delhi, 57.06% of students are enrolled in government schools, which make up nearly half (48.99%) of the total schools in the capital. 

West Bengal reported a 17.87% dropout rate at the secondary level and was advised to validate its data and address the contributing factors. Tamil Nadu, though performing better than Karnataka, was flagged for its 7.7% dropout rate and encouraged to improve its 82.9% GER to meet NEP targets.

Also Read: Private schools in Karnataka raise concerns over SATS portal issues