Niti Aayog flags poor student retention, learning outcomes in report
A decadal analysis of India’s school education system by Niti Aayog reveals that while India has achieved a near-universal access to school at the primary
A decadal analysis of India’s school education system by Niti Aayog reveals that while India has achieved a near-universal access to school at the primary level, it faces challenges in retaining students at the secondary level. There is also a persistent crisis in achieving learning outcomes. The report, titled ‘School Education System in India — Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement’, highlights the ‘pyramid’ problem. The education system currently resembles a sharp pyramid, housing 14.71 lakh schools and 24.69 crore students. High dropouts While the country boasts of 7.3 lakh primary schools, that number plummets to 1.64 lakh at the higher secondary level. Four out of every 10 children who enter the system drop out before completing higher secondary education. Over 26,000 government primary schools shut in U.P. after BJP came to power: Akhilesh Yadav “This structural fragmentation means only 5.4% of schools offer a continuous journey from Grade 1 to 12. For the vast majority of students, moving up through the grades requires changing institutions multiple times — a hurdle that contributes to a steep attrition rate,” the report said. “This fragmentation without any established linkage between schools for transitioning requires students to shift schools at key stages, depending on local availability, which further contributes to declining retention rates and limits the likelihood of progression to higher stages of education.” To add to this, close to 7,993 schools across the country reported zero student enrolment, with the highest numbers seen in West Bengal (3,812) and Telangana (2,245).
“While these schools appear operational in administrative records, they no longer serve any student population. These schools, despite zero enrolment, continue to receive financial and human resources due to the lack of updating of records, showing the difference between on-ground reality and planning,” the report said. The report recommends ‘Cylindrical’ Schooling to fix the “leaky pipeline” of student dropouts, which involves creating composite schools that cover Grades 1-12 under one roof. The report points to the fact that the Right to Education Act ends at age 14, leaving families to bear the costs of tuition, books, and transport for older children. No facilities The report highlights that according to UDISE+ 2024-25, 1.19 lakh schools lack access to functional electricity. Access to water and hygiene facilities is also inconsistent. The share of schools with drinking water facilities has increased from 96.5% in 2014 to 99% in 2025, but 14,505 schools still lack functional water sources, and nearly 59,829 lack hand-washing facilities, compromising student health and hygiene. “While internet access saw an eightfold increase (now at 63.5%), one-third of schools still lack connectivity, and 50% of government secondary schools operate without a science lab,” the report pointed out. Improving learning outcomes in children and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are challenges that need to be tackled in the school education system, the report said.
The BriefWire