India’s School Pipeline Shrinks Sharply as Panel Flags 73% Drop-Off Before Higher Secondary

A parliamentary panel has raised serious concerns about the number of students continuing their education as they move from primary to higher secondary classes. The Committee on Estimates has said that nearly 73% of students drop out before completing higher secondary education, while also pointing to a major shortage of schools at the secondary and higher secondary levels.

The findings are part of the committee’s Tenth Report of the Eighteenth Lok Sabha on affordable and quality education, including a review of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The report was presented in the Lok Sabha on 12 August.

Data from the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2024-25 shows a large difference in the availability of schools across education levels. Of 10,92,671 government and government-aided schools, 9,11,032 are at the primary level. The number falls to 4,12,805 at upper primary level, 1,61,808 at secondary level and only 90,866 at higher secondary level.

Student enrolment follows a similar pattern. Primary classes have more than 6.18 crore students, while Classes 6 to 8 have around 4.09 crore. The number falls to about 2.37 crore at the secondary level and 1.64 crore at the higher secondary level. The committee used this sharp fall in school availability and enrolment to highlight the scale of the problem.

The panel has urged the Education Ministry to upgrade more existing primary and secondary schools into full higher secondary schools. It also called on states and Union Territories to establish more secondary and higher secondary schools. The aim is to make high schools physically accessible to students and reduce the number leaving education before completing school.

The report also highlighted concerns around students who continue their education. It found a gap between curriculum changes and their implementation in Classes 9 to 12. New textbooks are still being rolled out by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), while schools are expected to teach updated curricula and application-based examination patterns.

According to the panel, the shortage of new textbooks and changes in examination methods are creating stress and confusion, particularly for students preparing for Classes 10 and 12. It recommended faster printing and distribution of the remaining textbooks, along with more teacher training in application-based teaching methods.

Teacher training is another concern. The panel noted that CBSE had trained more than 11 million participants through online and offline programmes during the previous five years. However, online participation fell sharply from more than 5.3 million participants in 2022 to around 162,814 in 2025.

The committee also found major gaps in facilities for children with special needs. Of 14,71,437 schools across India, only 5,23,143 have toilets designed for children with special needs, while 8,08,466 have ramps with handrails. The panel said more than half of schools therefore lack such basic accessibility facilities.

For India’s education sector, the findings highlight a problem that goes beyond examination results. Building more schools, improving access, providing the right learning material and making campuses accessible are all important if students are to remain in education through Class 12. The panel’s recommendations now put the focus on whether governments can turn these gaps into measurable improvements in school access and retention.