The NITI Aayog’s May 2026 report titled “School Education System in India” highlights continuing concerns around dropout rates at the secondary school level. Despite overall improvements in recent years, around one in ten students still leaves education at this stage.

The report notes that the national secondary-level dropout rate has declined to 11.5% in 2024–25. However, this stage remains the most vulnerable in the schooling system due to factors such as financial pressure, early entry into the workforce, and weak institutional support.

Meaning of dropout rate
Dropout rate refers to the percentage of students who discontinue education at a specific level during an academic year. A lower rate indicates better student retention.

State-wise secondary dropout rates (2024–25)

Lowest dropout rates
Chandigarh: 2%
Jharkhand: 3.5%
Lakshadweep: 4.1%
Uttarakhand: 4.6%
Kerala: 4.8%

Higher dropout rates
West Bengal: 20%
Arunachal Pradesh: 18.3%
Karnataka: 18.3%
Assam: 17.5%
Mizoram and Meghalaya: 17.4%
Gujarat: 16.9%
Madhya Pradesh: 16.8%
Ladakh: 16.2%

Other notable states
Andhra Pradesh: 15.5%
Chhattisgarh: 15.3%
Odisha: 15.0%
Telangana: 13.2%
Jammu and Kashmir: 12.9%
Nagaland: 12.1%
Maharashtra: 11.5%
Sikkim: 11.4%
Tripura: 11.3%

Improvement trends
The report also highlights significant improvements in several states over time:

Odisha: reduced from 49.5% to 15%
Jharkhand: reduced from 23.2% to 3.5%
Nagaland: reduced from 35.1% to 12.1%
Bihar: reduced from 25.3% to 6.9%
Rajasthan: reduced from 18.8% to 7.7%
Kerala: reduced from 14.5% to 4.8%

Conclusion
While several states have shown strong progress in reducing dropout rates, the overall data indicates that secondary education still faces significant retention challenges in many regions.