Gujarat’s 341% Spike in Dropouts: What’s Behind the Surge?
- Dec. 30, 2025, 6:33 p.m.
In the Parliament of India, the government has made a shocking revelation that 29.8 lakh teen girls, including 65.7 lakh children, have been out of school over the past 5 years. Savitri Thakur, the Minister of State for Women & Child Development, revealed these numbers when answering a query raised by Renkua Chaudhary, a Congress MP.
State-wise info places Gujarat at the top for the largest number of children dropouts in 2025–26. The state found that 1.1 lakh were adolescent girls out of 2.4 lakh school dropouts this year. The result shows an alert when compared with the previous year’s info. The state stated that only 54,541 out-of-school children were in 2024, and this rise surprisingly marks a 341% increase in 2025. The dropout rate of girls rose from just 1 lakh in 2024 to 1.1 lakh this year.
Uttar Pradesh & Assam Follow
Assam reported the 2nd highest number of children’s dropouts in 2025, after Gujarat, finding 1,50,906 students, including 57,409 girls. UP reported 99,218 students out of schools in 2025, with girls reporting for 56,462 of them. The UP government is determined to merge schools with fewer than 50 children into nearby schools, a move now under scrutiny among increasing dropouts earlier this year.
The Key Reasons
The Union government attributed the increase in adolescent girls' school dropouts to various factors, including poor socio-economic conditions, migration, child labour, domestic responsibilities, and other structural and social problems. The Centre highlighted more interventions under the Samagra Shiksha scheme to address the dropout crisis.
These involve strengthening and opening schools up to the senior secondary stage, constructing new schools and additional classrooms, elaborating Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, offering textbooks and free uniforms, providing transport allowances, carrying on special retention drives, reimbursing costs under the Right to Education (RTE) Act and enrolment.
Additionally, the government offers financial support of up to 2,000 rupees per year to children out-of-school aged from 16 to 19 to assist them in continuing their education.
Bringing Children Back to School’ Campaign
The Centre has invited all Union Territories and States to actively carry out the “Bringing Children Back to School” campaign, with assistance from Panchayati Raj Institutions, local communities and School Management Committees. The government communicated with Parliament that it spent Rs 56,694.70 crore under the Samagra Shiksha scheme in 2024–25 as well, with the Centre contributing Rs 34,45,820 crore.
