NAVVNEET DUBEY
Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir recorded a rise in secondary school dropout rate to 11.6 per cent in 2025-26, compared to 6 per cent in 2021-22. Conversely, the primary-level dropout rate fell significantly to 1.1 per cent from four per cent during this period as per Data presented in the Lok Sabha the other day. The Ministry of Education shared the figures in response to a Lok Sabha question on dropout rates among school students during the last five years.
As per the latest UDISE+ data, the secondary school dropout rate in Jammu and Kashmir rose from 6 per cent in 2021-22 to 9 per cent in 2022-23 and further to 13.4 per cent in 2023-24. The rate thereafter showed a decline, coming down to 12.9 per cent in 2024-25 and 11.6 per cent in 2025-26.
At the primary level, the dropout rate stood at 4 per cent in 2021-22 and peaked at 8.9 per cent in 2022-23 before falling to 1.6 per cent in 2023-24, 1.5 per cent in 2024-25 and 1.1 per cent in 2025-26.Kashmir Science updates The national secondary dropout rate stood at 9.5 per cent in 2025-26, placing J&K 2.1 percentage points above the national average. At the primary level, the national rate was 0.3 per cent.
J&K had 24,228 schools in 2025-26, enrolling 26.58 lakh students and employing 1.66 lakh teachers with a pupil-teacher ratio of 16:1, better than the national average of 24:1. The secondary-level dropout rate stood at 11.3%, against a national average of 7.0% – the 6th-highest among India’s 36 states and Union Territories. Only 39.1% of children who start Class 1 in J&K are still enrolled by Class 12, against 51.9% nationally.
J&K has 4,386 fewer government schools than it had in 2021-22 – a decline of 18.9% of its government-school stock, more than eleven times the national rate of contraction (1.7%). 188 schools reported zero enrolment and 1,544 functioned with a single teacher. The gendered gap is slightly higher than the national pattern. J&K boys drop out at 12.1% against a national boys’ rate of 8.3%, while J&K girls drop out at 10.3% against a national girls’ rate of 5.7%. This makes it 1.8 times the national female rate, higher than for boys – 1.5 times the national male rate.
The Centre said the major reasons identified for students never attending school included the need to supplement household income and engagement in domestic chores, citing findings from the 2025 Periodic Labour Force Survey.
The government said it supports States and Union Territories through the Centrally Sponsored Samagra Shiksha scheme and PM POSHAN to improve enrolment and reduce dropouts. Measures include strengthening schools up to the senior secondary level, improving infrastructure, residential facilities and hostels, transport and escort facilities, enrolment drives, seasonal hostels, vocational education, ICT facilities, and provision of free textbooks and uniforms.
For girls and disadvantaged groups, the measures include Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, residential schools and hostels under initiatives including PM-JANMAN and the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan.
