Bengaluru: Kerala has the lowest number of high school dropouts in South India. At the same time, Karnataka has the highest number of dropouts. The information on dropout rates at the secondary school level was obtained from the minutes of the meetings of the Project Approval Board (PAB), which comes under the Ministry of Education.

According to a report 22.2 per cent of students in Karnataka drop out by the time they reach class 9 and 10. In Kerala, only 3.14 per cent of students do not complete their high school education.

Andhra Pradesh ranks second in South India in terms of dropout rates, with 12.48 per cent of students leaving school before completing high school. In Telangana, the rate is 11.43 per cent, and in Tamil Nadu, it stands at 7.68 per cent. Nationally, Bihar has the highest dropout rate at 25.07 per cent, followed by Assam, also at 25.07 per cent, and West Bengal with 17.87 per cent.

The Central Government has recommended that these states conduct special enrollment drives, including door-to-door surveys, to identify out-of-school children and ensure their re-admission. Karnataka’s 22.2 per cent dropout rate at the secondary level is significantly higher than the national average of 4.1 per cent, highlighting an urgent need for intervention.

The meetings Samagra Shiksha programme for 2025-26 were held between April and May this year with different states.

According to officials, the government wants to achieve a 100 per cent Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) at the school level by 2030 as targeted in the NEP, 2020 and considers dropout as a hindrance.