Rising Dropout Rates In Assam’s State-Run Primary Schools Despite Government Initiatives: Economic Survey

Student dropout rates in state-run primary schools across Assam have been continuously rising for the last few years despite the government taking various initiatives to improve the situation, the latest Economic Survey said.

Terming education as one of the key inputs for balanced social and fiscal development, the Economic Survey, Assam for 2023-24 said the average annual dropout rate in lower primary (LP) schools in the state stood at 8.49 per cent in 2022-23.

As per Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) data, the LP school dropout rate was 6.02 per cent in 2021-22, rising from 4.3 per cent in 2019-20 and 3.1 per cent in 2018-19, it added.

Transition rate from primary to upper primary schools is 89.7%

“Likewise in the upper primary (UP) level, the dropout rate is 10.33 per cent in 2022-23 and it was 8.81 per cent in 2021-22,” the report stated.

The economic survey said that the transition rate from primary to upper primary schools in the state is 89.7 per cent.

The dropout rate for LP schools is the highest in South Salmara district at 22.52 per cent in the last financial year, followed by 14.54 per cent in Karimganj, while the lowest rate of 4.02 per cent was recorded in Sivasagar.

“Similarly, in the upper primary level, this rate is the highest at 32.39 per cent in South Salmara and the lowest at 4.03 per cent in Sivasagar during the period 2022-23,” the survey said.

Assam has 33,937 government and provincialised LP schools. Of them, 32,860 are in rural areas and 1,077 in urban localities.