A parliamentary committee has expressed concern over the sharp decline in school enrolment as students progress through India’s education system, noting that nearly 73% of students drop out before completing higher secondary education.
The findings are part of the Tenth Report (2026-27) of the Committee on Estimates on affordable and quality education, which was presented in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Drawing on UDISE 2024-25 data, the report found that while India has more than 9.11 lakh primary schools, the number drops to 1.61 lakh secondary schools and only 90,866 higher secondary schools.
Student enrolment follows a similar trend. The report states that enrolment falls from 6.18 crore students in primary classes to 1.64 crore at the higher secondary level. The committee urged the Education Ministry to work with states and Union Territories to upgrade more schools to the higher secondary level in order to improve access and reduce dropouts.
The panel also highlighted implementation challenges linked to recent curriculum reforms. While CBSE has aligned Classes 9 to 12 with the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework 2023, NCERT is still releasing new textbooks. The committee said this has created a gap between the curriculum being taught and the learning material available to students, particularly those preparing for Class 10 and 12 board examinations under new application-based assessment patterns.
In addition, the report raised concerns about declining participation in online teacher training programmes, limited fee concessions for economically weaker students, inadequate infrastructure for children with special needs and underutilisation of funds allocated for inclusive education projects.
The committee also noted that combined public spending on education by the Centre and states remains at 4.1% of GDP, below the 6% target outlined in the National Education Policy 2020. It recommended a time-bound financial roadmap, faster textbook distribution, expansion of higher secondary schools and stronger teacher-capacity building to improve access and learning outcomes across the country.
