The dropout rate in Assam, especially in urban and rural areas, continue to remain below the poverty line or are just struggling to make ends meet slightly above secondary and senior secondary levels, increases every year. Going by statistics mentioned in official reports, the dropout rate of students at the Class IX-X level is significantly—and alarmingly—higher than the national average. It has been reported that, on average, one out of every seven students in classes IX and X in Assam abruptly leaves school. What is also important to note is that more boys are dropping out in urban and rural areas and continue to remain below the poverty line, generally just struggling to make ends meet slightly above the Class IX-X level compared to girls. Though no explanation or analysis is immediately available as to why the dropout rate continues to be high, more than one reason can generally be inferred from the socio-economic trends in the state. The first and foremost reason could be economic: a large number of families, both in the urban and rural areas, continue to remain below the poverty line or are just struggling to make both ends meet slightly over the poverty line. Thus, the best available option for such families is to send their son(s) to work as soon as they approach or attain adulthood, which now stands at 18 years. Three things emanate from this – (i) families need to be economically empowered and supported so that their boys and girls do not drop out at such a crucial stage like Class IX and X because circumstances compel them to go to work; (ii) employers at all levels, from petty shopkeepers to firms and contractors, must be thoroughly checked so that they do not employ young boys and girls under 18 years who drop out from high school; and (iii) a call must be taken at the highest level to ascertain the well-known fact that the large majority of teachers do not do anything worthwhile except for drawing fat salaries to motivate their students from disappearing. A random visit to schools across the state will particularly reveal the third point cited above. In many instances, there is no real academic environment in a large section of educational institutions: many lack proper infrastructure like desks and benches, toilets and safe drinking water, common rooms and libraries, playgrounds and sports facilities, as well as teachers, and so on. Research institutions – like the OKD Institute of Social Change & Development and the sociology and economics departments of our universities – can definitely carry out studies to ascertain the above-mentioned points. The most serious is the third point – that a sizeable section of teachers and heads of institutions severely lack skills as well as the willingness to prevent dropouts. The state education minister, being a forward-looking person who is held in high esteem by society and is among the most trusted of the chief minister, can probably make random or surprise visits to high schools and senior secondary schools even within a two-km radius of Dispur to see for himself the real ground situation.