Odisha Worst Performer With Class X Dropout Rate At 50%; 37% Rise Over 4 Years

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: The highest dropout rate in Class X in 2021-22 was recorded in Odisha, where 49.9% students discontinued their studies, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Odisha was the worst performing state followed by Bihar at 42.1% and they were among the ten states where dropout rate was more than the national average, which decreased from 28.4% in 2018-19 to 20.6% in 2021-22.

Odisha has had a downward trend over the past four years with its dropout rate rising from 12.8% in 2018-2019 to 49.9% in 2021-22. The dropout rate in the state was 38.35% in 2019-20 and 39.4% in 2020-21.

In a response to queries from DMK MP Kalanidhi Veeraswamy, Dharmendra stated that 1,89,90,809 students appeared for Class X examination in 2022, of which 29,56,138 students failed to progress to Class XI.

Under the Board of Secondary Education, Odisha, 1,38,462 had failed to qualify in Class X in 2019, 90,908 in 2020, 12,115 in 2021 and 8,944 in 2022, data shared by the Union Minister said.

“The factors contributing to students’ failure in examinations are diverse, including non-attendance at schools, challenges in understanding school instructions, lack of interest in studies, the difficulty level of question papers, a shortage of qualified teachers, insufficient support from parents, teachers, and schools, among others. Additionally, education falls within the concurrent list of the Constitution, and the majority of schools operate under the jurisdiction of the respective state and Union Territory governments,” Dharmendra added.

Apart from Odisha and Bihar, the other states with high dropouts are Meghalaya (33.5%), Karnataka (28.5%), Andhra Pradesh and Assam with 28.3% each, Gujarat (28.2%), and Telangana (27.4%). Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Manipur (no dropouts), Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi were among the states with dropout rates under 10% while Assam showed a marked improvement with its dropout rate falling from 44% to 28.3%.