High dropout rate of girl students worries Assam

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The transition rate among girl students in Assam's schools seems satisfactory; the retention rate is less than the national average, but the dropout rate is much higher, which is a major cause for concern.

This was revealed in the recently published Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report 2023-24.

According to the report, girls' enrolment in the primary level is 16,19,769, upper primary level is 9,02,802, secondary level is 5,38,873, and in the higher secondary level it is 2,58,875 in all kinds of schools. As for the transition rate among girl students, it is 96.2% from foundation to preparatory, 87.8% from preparatory to middle, and 85.4% from middle to secondary level.

However, it is apparent from the report that the girl students' retention rate is a cause of concern, as Assam is ranked at sixth place from the bottom of the list for girls at the primary, elementary, and secondary levels and third from the bottom at the higher secondary level. At the primary level, the rate is 78.7% at the state level in Assam, while it is 85.7% at the national level. At the elementary level, the rate is 60.4% for Assam, while the national rate is 78.9%. At the secondary level, the rate for Assam is 51.5%, compared to 64.6% nationally. The same trend is seen at the higher secondary level, with the rate being 25.6% for Assam and 47.5% for the nation as a whole.

The poor condition of girl dropouts in the state is also evident from the fact that Assam has a rate of 5.5% at the preparatory level (Class III to V), while the national rate is 3.5%. For the middle school level (Class VI to VIII), the rate is 6.1% for Assam and 5.3% for the nation. In the secondary level (Class IX to XII), the dropout rate is 19.5% for Assam, while it is only 9.4% at the national level.

The dropout rate at the secondary level is of most concern, as the difference between the state and the national level is huge, with the state rate being more than double that at the national level in 2023-24. This trend has been seen for several years now.

As per UDISE+, the level-wise dropout rate of the girls for the years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 is as follows:

In the primary level in 2019-20, the dropout rate of girl students in Assam was 3.6, compared to 1.2 at the national level; in the upper primary level, the dropout rate was 2.1 in Assam, compared to 3.0 at the national level; the dropout rate in the secondary level in Assam was 32.9, while it was 15.1 at the national level.

In 2020-21, the girl dropout level in primary level was 2.3 and 0.7 in Assam and India, respectively; in upper-primary school, it was 3.6 and 2.6; and in secondary school, it was 31.4 and 13.7, respectively.

Also, in 2021-22, the girl dropout rate was 5.2 and 1.4 at the primary level, respectively; 7.6 and 3.3 in the upper primary level; and in the secondary level, the girl dropout rate was 20.7 in Assam and 12.3 at the national level.

 The major reasons for the increased dropout rate among girl students are said to be mainly socioeconomic reasons such as supplementing household income, attending to domestic chores, not being interested in studies, being unable to cope with studies, children suffering from some disability, poor health, education not being considered necessary by the parents, preparation for competitive examinations, marriage, etc.

However, the state government is taking measures to reduce the dropout rate among girl students by implementing the Samagra Shiksha scheme, under which various facilities are being provided for promoting girls' education, including the opening of schools in the neighbourhood as defined by the state, free uniforms and textbooks to girls up to Class VIII, the provision of gender-segregated toilets in all schools, the provision of self-defence training to girls, and a stipend to girls in the Children with Special Needs (CWSN) category, among others. Special projects for equity have also been taken up, such as life skills awareness programmes, sanitary pad incinerators and vending machines, etc., and the vocationalization of secondary education.

Additionally, to reduce the dropout of girls at all levels of school education, there is a provision of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) in the Educationally Backward Blocks, where the rural female literacy rate is below the national average. KGBVs are residential schools from classes VI to XII for girls belonging to disadvantaged groups such as SC, ST, OBC, minorities, and Below Poverty Line (BPL).

The Assam government has also taken up several measures to increase enrolment of girl students, increase the percentage of girls educated beyond matriculation, reduce dropouts among girl students, and eliminate the social evil of child marriage. Schemes like the distribution of free scooters and bicycles to girl students are intended to encourage girls to attend educational institutions, apart from providing financial assistance as an admission incentive to girl students under Mukhya Mantri Nijut Moina Aasoni.

Also Read: Assam: Girl students’ dropout rate in state is higher than national average

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