Primary school dropout rate rising in Assam: survey

Student dropout rates in state-run primary schools across Assam have been continuously rising for the last few years despite the government taking various initiatives to improve the situation, the latest Economic Survey said.

Terming education as one of the key inputs for balanced social and fiscal development, the Economic Survey, Assam for 2023-24 said the average annual dropout rate in lower primary (LP) schools in the state stood at 8.49 per cent in 2022-23.

As per Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) data, the LP school dropout rate was 6.02 per cent in 2021-22, rising from 4.3 per cent in 2019-20 and 3.1 per cent in 2018-19, it added.

"Likewise in the upper primary (UP) level, the dropout rate is 10.33 per cent in 2022-23 and it was 8.81 per cent in 2021-22," the report stated.

The economic survey said that the transition rate from primary to upper primary schools in the state is 89.7 per cent.

The dropout rate for LP schools is the highest in South Salmara district at 22.52 per cent in the last financial year, followed by 14.54 per cent in Karimganj, while the lowest rate of 4.02 per cent was recorded in Sivasagar.

"Similarly, in the upper primary level, this rate is the highest at 32.39 per cent in South Salmara and the lowest at 4.03 per cent in Sivasagar during the period 2022-23," the survey said.

Assam has 33,937 government and provincialised LP schools. Of them, 32,860 are in rural areas and 1,077 in urban localities.

The number of upper primary schools is 5,815, of them, 5,511 are in rural areas and 294 are in urban areas.

Against the rising dropout rate, the gross enrolment ratio (GER) has been increasing every year, the Economic Survey pointed out.

The GER for elementary schools (Class 1 to 8) during 2021-22 was 109.8 per cent, 104.5 per cent in 2020-21 and 107.4 per cent in 2019-20, showing an overall rise in Assam, it added.

"In secondary schools (Class 9-10), the GER during 2021-22 was 74.5 per cent, and it was 74 per cent in 2020-21," the report said, adding that the rate was the same at 74 per cent in 2019-20.

However, the GER is considerably low for senior secondary schools at 40.1 per cent in 2021-22, up from 30.9 per cent in 2020-21, according to UDISE data.

"Education empowers people with skills and knowledge, which ultimately help boost economic growth. A number of schemes have been initiated by the government for encouraging development of education among various sections of the population in the state," the report said.

It said that altogether 46,69,501 students were provided with free textbooks before the commencement of the academic year 2023-24. In 2022, 41,51,498 students from Class 1 to 8 were given free textbooks by the government.