Maharashtra eliminates elementary school dropouts, secondary dropout rate falls to 9%: Report

Maharashtra has eliminated student dropouts in Classes I to VIII, but retaining students in secondary education continues to be a challenge, with the dropout rate for Classes IX and X standing at 9% in 2025-26, according to the latest Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report.

The report defines the dropout rate as the proportion of students enrolled at a particular level in one academic year who do not enroll in any grade during the following school year.

Despite the challenge, Maharashtra has made notable progress by reducing the secondary school dropout rate from 16% in 2022-23 to 9% in 2025-26, bringing it below the national average of 9.5%.

The report attributes improvements in elementary education to the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which significantly expanded the number of primary schools. However, the expansion of secondary and higher secondary schools has not kept pace.

Mahendra Ganpule, spokesperson for the Maharashtra Primary Teachers' Forum, said, “Relatively fewer schools cater to older students, so access may be one reason students are not continuing into secondary education. Strict implementation of RTE Act ensure that most students are promoted till Std VIII despite annual examinations in Stds III and VIII. Many parents, however, eventually realize that their children are not interested in academics and believe work may be a better option.”

Data from the report highlights the gap in school infrastructure. While 45.3% of schools in Maharashtra are primary schools, only 16.7% are secondary schools and 11.3% are higher secondary institutions.

Even so, these two levels account for 17.1% and 13.3% of total student enrollment, indicating that comparatively fewer schools are serving a large student population in higher grades.

Ganpule also noted a shift in dropout trends. “Boys are now dropping out at higher rates than girls. The crackdown on child marriages across the state has also helped keep more girls in school. Girls are often more serious about their studies and are continuing into higher classes,” he said.

However, some educators questioned the state's claim of achieving zero dropouts in elementary education.

An educator leading a state-level teachers' organization said, “Visit any govt school, especially in the urban areas, and you will find students leaving school to take up work. We also hear of underage children who have dropped out becoming involved in crime.”

State education officials argued that the reported dropout figures may not reflect the complete picture.

Mahesh Palkar, director of secondary education, said not every student categorized as a dropout had left the education system.

“Many boys opt for Industrial Training Institutes after Std VIII instead of enrolling in Stds IX and X. These students are not captured in the data. Besides, secondary schools cannot be established as densely as primary schools. Primary schools can function with two teachers handling multiple subjects, whereas secondary schools require laboratories and subject-specific teachers. Naturally, their numbers will be lower. Students at that age are also capable of traveling longer distances,” he said.

According to Palkar, the state government has directed primary school teachers to ensure that every student completing Std VIII secures admission to Std IX, including those whose families migrate or who need to travel farther for secondary education.

“If class teachers track students till they take admission in another school, these dropout numbers can be reduced further,” he said.

The UDISE+ report also flagged an increase in single-teacher schools across Maharashtra.

The number of schools operating with only one teacher rose from 8,152 in 2024-25 to 9,269 in 2025-26, while student enrollment in these schools increased from 1.5 lakh to 1.8 lakh.

This trend contrasts with the national picture, where both the number of single-teacher schools and student enrollment in such institutions have been declining.

Vijay Kombe, state president of the Maharashtra State Primary Teachers' Forum, said the shortage could be more severe than official figures indicate.

“In many primary schools, one teacher is effectively handling two schools. Students suffer due to the shortage of teachers. However, because parents in rural areas prefer nearby schools for accessibility reasons, children continue to attend these single-teacher schools,” Kombe said.