NEW DELHI — In a sobering reflection on the state of secondary education in India, a parliamentary committee has expressed deep concern over a massive drop in student enrollment as children progress to higher grades, revealing that nearly 73% of students drop out before finishing higher secondary school.

The findings were detailed in the Tenth Report (Eighteenth Lok Sabha) of the Committee on Estimates (2026–27), titled "Budget and Policy aspects for providing Affordable and Quality Education in the Country including Review of Central Board of Secondary Education," which was presented to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

A Steep Pyramid: Sharp Decline in Schools and Enrollment

Highlighting a fundamental structural imbalance in the national schooling framework, the report pointed out a severe shortage of secondary and higher secondary facilities compared to primary institutions.

According to official Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) data for 2024–25, India has over 1.09 million government and government-aided schools. However, the distribution drops off sharply across levels:

  • Primary Level: 9,11,032 schools (61.8 million students enrolled)

  • Upper Primary Level (Classes 6–8): 4,12,805 schools (40.8 million students enrolled)

  • Secondary Level: 1,61,808 schools (23.6 million students enrolled)

  • Higher Secondary Level: 90,866 schools (16.4 million students enrolled)

"The Committee is concerned to note this drastic decline in the number of schools and students as education levels rise," the report stated, adding that out of over one million government-run schools, the overwhelming majority stop at the primary level, directly contributing to the high dropout rate before Class 12.

To combat this bottleneck, the panel strongly advised the Union Ministry of Education to prioritize upgrading existing primary and upper primary facilities into full-fledged higher secondary schools. Since education falls on the Concurrent List, the committee called on the Centre to coordinate closely with State and Union Territory governments to physically expand high school availability within accessible reach of all communities.

Critical Gaps in Infrastructure for Differently-Abled Students

Beyond high dropout rates, the parliamentary panel flagged severe gaps in supporting Children with Special Needs (CwSN), noting that over half of the country's schools lack basic disability-friendly infrastructure.

Despite policy goals under the Samagra Shiksha scheme—which funds barrier-free features like ramps, handrails, and accessible toilets—progress on the ground remains drastically slow:

  • Out of 1.47 million schools nationwide, only 5,23,143 schools have CwSN-compliant toilets.

  • Only 8,08,466 schools feature ramps with handrails.

The committee highlighted alarming underutilization of allocated funds. For the 2024–25 fiscal year:

  • Out of ₹482 lakh earmarked to construct 186 CwSN toilets, only ₹2.60 lakh was actually spent, yielding zero progress on physical construction targets.

  • Out of ₹962 lakh budgeted for hiring new special educators in elementary sections, a meager ₹80.50 lakh was utilized, leaving recruitment and retention of specialized educators severely lagging.

Call for Time-Bound Execution

Emphasizing the mandates of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPnD) Act, 2016—which guarantees free education for disabled youth up to age 18—and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020's zero-rejection framework, the committee urged immediate course correction.

The panel recommended that the Ministry set strict, time-bound annual targets for infrastructure completion and budget utilization, while conducting a nationwide assessment to expedite the recruitment of qualified special educators.