India is confronting a worsening education crisis, with millions of children—especially girls—falling out of the formal schooling system, according to official data revealed in Parliament. The figures show that the problem is not temporary but persistent, stretching across multiple years and states.
Alarming Scale of Dropouts
Between the Financial Years 2022 and 2026 (up to December 3, 2025), states reported a total of 84.9 lakh children outside the formal education system, from pre-school to Class 12. Nearly half of these out-of-school children are girls, highlighting a stark gender dimension to the crisis.
Large and populous states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Assam account for many of these cases, illustrating that the challenge is most acute where child populations are largest and educational access remains uneven.
State-Wise Patterns
The share of girls among out-of-school children varies significantly between states, largely depending on overall enrolment levels:
Kerala (33.2%), Telangana (31.1%) and Ladakh (33.3%) report comparatively lower shares of girls among dropouts—likely due to higher female enrolment rates.
In contrast, states like Maharashtra (65.7%), Himachal Pradesh (54.8%) and Mizoram (53.8%) have a majority of girls among the out-of-school children.
Why Children Drop Out
State authorities identified several key causes behind this trend:
Migration of families for work, disrupting consistent schooling
Socio-economic hardships that force children out of school
Domestic responsibilities, especially for older girls
Child labour in both rural and urban areas.
These reasons reflect deep-rooted challenges that extend beyond education policy alone, touching on poverty, labour patterns, and social norms that limit sustained schooling for vulnerable children.
Efforts to Bring Children Back
To address the problem, states have used funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme and other initiatives to re-enrol out-of-school children. Over the past five years:
26.46 lakh children were re-enrolled through specialized training efforts.
These programmes included residential and non-residential classes, seasonal hostels, and transport support for migrant families.
Rs 626 crore was spent on these outreach efforts.
Re-enrolment peaked during 2021–22 with 8.6 lakh children returning to school, later dropping sharply in 2023–24 before improving again in 2024–25 to 7.67 lakh returns.
Persistent and Growing Challenge
Despite these steps, the total number of out-of-school children continues to grow, especially in the larger states with higher populations. This ongoing rise shows that current efforts, though impactful for many, aren’t yet sufficient to stem the tide of dropouts, particularly among girls.
Why This Matters
Education is a fundamental right and a critical pathway to social and economic opportunity. When millions of children—and a disproportionately large share of girls—fall out of school, the long-term effects include:
Reduced opportunities for higher education and employment, Increased inequality between genders, Continued cycles of poverty and social exclusion.
Experts and advocates emphasise that sustained policy focus, targeted interventions, and community support are essential to ensure that more girls not only enrol but also continue through their schooling years and complete education.
Dr Vijay Garg Retired Principal Educational columnist
Saturday, January 24, 2026