School dropouts and Assam’s education

Himangshu Ranjan Bhuyan

(himangshur1989@gmail.com)

School dropout remains one of the important challenges facing Assam's education system, particularly at the secondary level. The state has made considerable progress in expanding access to schooling, but enrolment alone cannot guarantee that children will remain in school until they complete their education. Recent UDISE+ data show that Assam's dropout rate in 2024-25 was 3.8 per cent at the primary level, 5 per cent at the upper-primary level and 17.5 per cent at the secondary level. The secondary figure is particularly significant because the transition from elementary education to higher classes is a stage when many children begin to face economic, social and academic pressures.  The situation therefore needs to be understood not simply as a problem of children leaving school, but as a wider issue involving household income, accessibility, school quality, learning difficulties, social expectations and the relevance of education to future employment. Assam's geographical conditions add another layer to the problem. Floods, erosion and displacement can repeatedly disturb the education of children in vulnerable communities. UNICEF has also identified Assam's complex geography, large rural population and recurring natural disasters as important challenges for equitable child development services. It has noted that, despite improvements in enrolment and retention, the state continues to face low attendance, high dropout rates and teacher vacancies.  In rural Assam, particularly in areas affected by floods and erosion, a family's immediate economic difficulties can easily become an educational problem for its children. When a family loses land, livestock, housing or regular income, schooling may no longer remain its first priority. Children may be required to support household work, agriculture or other forms of economic activity. For some girls, domestic responsibilities and early marriage can also interrupt education. For boys, pressure to earn or assist in family occupations can have a similar effect. These circumstances show why dropout cannot be addressed only through school-level measures. It requires coordination between education, social protection, child protection and local development systems. The objective should be to identify children who are beginning to disengage from education before they formally leave school. Regular attendance records, communication with parents, academic support and community-level monitoring can help schools recognise such children at an early stage. UNICEF has recently highlighted the importance of early-warning systems and better tracking of children who are at risk of dropping out.  For Assam, such an approach is especially relevant because the reasons for discontinuing education can differ considerably between urban areas, rural villages, tea garden communities, riverine areas and places affected by repeated displacement.

The problem of dropout is also closely connected with the quality and experience of schooling. A child may remain officially enrolled but attend irregularly, fall behind academically and gradually lose interest in education. This form of disengagement can eventually result in permanent dropout. Therefore, reducing dropout requires more than increasing the number of schools or providing admission. Schools must create an environment in which children can learn successfully and see a clear purpose in continuing their education. Academic weakness is particularly important because students who repeatedly struggle with reading, mathematics or other subjects may develop a sense that they cannot keep pace with their classmates. If remedial support is not available, absence can increase and eventually lead to withdrawal. The Annual Status of Education Report 2024 for rural Assam indicates that school participation remains high among younger children, with only 0.9 per cent of children aged 6-14 reported as not being in school. Among children aged 7-16, the corresponding figure was 1.5 per cent.  These figures indicate that the central challenge is increasingly not simply getting young children into school, but ensuring continued participation as they grow older. The sharp difference between Assam's primary and secondary dropout rates in the latest UDISE+ data reinforces this point.  Secondary education often brings additional expenses, longer distances to school, greater academic demands and stronger pressure to enter employment. In some communities, girls face additional restrictions related to safety, mobility, domestic responsibilities and marriage. Boys may experience pressure to work and contribute to family income. The answer should therefore combine financial support with academic and social support. Scholarships and other assistance can reduce economic pressure, but they need to reach eligible students on time. Schools also need adequate teachers, functional infrastructure, safe transportation where necessary, counselling and flexible support for students who have fallen behind. The transition from one level of schooling to another deserves particular attention. A student completing Class VIII should not be considered secure simply because elementary education has been completed. The move into secondary school is a critical stage, and schools should maintain contact with families when attendance begins to decline. Community institutions can also play a useful role by encouraging parents to treat education as a long-term investment rather than an activity that can be abandoned whenever the family faces temporary difficulties. In this context, the education system must also recognise the realities of Assam instead of applying a single approach everywhere. A child living in a flood-prone char area may face very different barriers from a child living in a town. Policies should therefore be flexible enough to respond to local conditions while maintaining a common standard of educational quality.

Reducing school dropout in Assam ultimately requires a shift from an enrolment-centred approach to a retention-and-learning approach. The question is not merely whether a child has been admitted to school, but whether the child attends regularly, learns adequately, feels safe, receives support when difficulties arise and remains connected to education through secondary school. Government programmes have expanded access, and the improvement in school participation among younger children is evidence that progress is possible. Yet the high secondary dropout rate shows that access alone is not sufficient.  The next stage should focus on identifying vulnerable students early and responding before absence becomes permanent. Schools can maintain simple attendance-based warning systems, teachers can communicate with parents after repeated absence, and local administrations can coordinate support for children affected by migration, displacement, poverty or other disruptions. Assam also needs stronger links between school education and practical skills. Secondary education should help students understand how learning connects with higher education, vocational training, employment and entrepreneurship. When students and parents can see a realistic pathway beyond school, the incentive to continue education can become stronger. At the same time, vocational education should not become a substitute for quality general education or be used to divert disadvantaged children away from academic opportunities. It should instead provide additional pathways according to students' interests and abilities. The state also needs reliable, regularly updated information on individual students at risk of dropping out. Data should be used not merely to prepare reports but to trigger action at the school and community levels. UNICEF's current work on early-warning systems in India reflects this broader approach of identifying interconnected causes before children leave education permanently.  Assam's education policy must similarly recognise that dropout is often the final result of several smaller problems that were not addressed in time. Poverty, weak learning, long distance, family responsibilities, natural disasters, inadequate school facilities and social pressures can accumulate over several years. Preventing dropout therefore requires sustained attention rather than short-term campaigns. Teachers, parents, local communities and government departments all have roles, but the school must remain the central institution for keeping children connected to education. Assam has already built a large educational network and has expanded school participation considerably. The more difficult task now is to ensure that children do not disappear from that system as they move into higher classes. A reduction in secondary-school dropout would strengthen not only Assam's education system but also its future workforce, social development and economic capacity. The measure of educational progress should therefore be the number of children who enter school, remain there, learn successfully and complete the level of education that can provide them with meaningful choices in adult life.