Reasons for Secondary School Dropout in India

Most studies on secondary school dropout in India arrive at remarkably similar conclusions. Across states, districts, and organisations, the patterns repeat.

If you are planning yet another “dropout study,” it is worth pausing. You probably do not need a fresh household survey to rediscover the same set of reasons. In most cases, existing evidence already tells you what you need to know.

This post summarises the most commonly observed reasons for secondary school dropout across the country, based on repeated findings from government data, state studies, and civil society research.

How does dropout happen?

Dropout is not evenly distributed across grades, genders or communities

The highest dropout occurs at transition points, especially:

• Class 8 (upper primary to secondary)
• Class 10 (end of secondary)
• Dropout at secondary level tends to be lowest in Class 11

In the early years, children often drop out because they are not developmentally ready for school. Home environments do not support learning and schools are not equipped to respond to diverse needs. These early gaps compound over time and reappear as dropout in later grades. This is now well known which is why the gargantuan thrust on “fixing the foundation” and addressing the foundational “learning crisis”.

Schooling decisions are also deeply gendered. Boys are more likely to be sent to private schools while girls’ enrolment is typically higher in government schools.

Among students who drop out:

• Most dropped-out girls are either married or engaged in household work
• Most dropped-out boys are engaged in income-generating activities or migrate for work

For girls, common reasons for dropping out include:

• Early marriage
• Domestic responsibilities (household chores or carework)
• Distance to school
• Safety concerns (gender-based violence is a huge deteriment to girls’ education)
• Household income shocks

In many contexts, the proportion of students dropping out from each social category broadly mirrors their share in total enrolment. However, there are important exceptions. In certain regions, students from marginalised communities, like Scheduled Tribes, show significantly higher dropout relative to their enrolment share.

These patterns are often linked to geography, migration, language barriers, and access to secondary schools.

Cost shocks after elementary school

In many states, key entitlements linked to the Right to Education Act (textbooks, uniforms, school bags), including mid-day meals, end after Class 8.

As a result, “free schooling” suddenly becomes expensive in secondary school. Families must bear additional costs for transport, uniforms, books, and exam fees. Some states have extended free textbooks and uniforms up to Class 12, but coverage and implementation vary widely.

“Lack of interest”

Students frequently cite “lack of interest” as a reason for dropping out. This is often treated as an individual failing.

In reality, it usually reflects that the curriculum feels irrelevant to students’ lives. That teaching that does not engage or support diverse learning needs. That the students who fall behind early are never helped to catch up.

At the secondary level, school often feels disconnected from both immediate realities and future aspirations.

Supply-side constraints

Schools and systems face real limitations. Common supply-side issues include:

• Capacity: Teachers and schools are often not equipped to support diverse learners (multi-lingual and multi-grade classrooms are quite common)
• Infrastructure: Secondary schools are fewer and farther apart; distance becomes a serious barrier
• Support systems: Limited counselling and language support for students and communities

Demand-side pressures

On the household side, dropout is shaped by:

• Poverty: Children pulled into paid or unpaid work to support household income
• Domestic responsibilities: Often carework for girls, income-generation for boys
• Disability and special needs: Often inadequately supported in schools
• Low awareness: Of the long-term value of regular attendance (“each additional year of schooling brings $X extra income” looks good only in reports)

These pressures are not solved by persuasion alone. Being aware of these pressures doesn’t solve them either.

What helps students return to school?

Re-enrolment and retention require more than enrolment drives.

Dropped out students almost always request:

• Financial support
• Safe transport and secure school environments
• Empathetic, remedial instruction
• Career guidance relevant to their life’s reality
• Exposure to vocational and skill-based pathways that can translate into real jobs

For many adolescents, the desire to work is not a failure of ambition. It reflects a rational response to limited opportunities.

“We need to know where we are” – Early warning systems are not a silver bullet

Tracking attendance and identifying “at-risk” students can help only up to a point. Dropout is driven by structural and societal factors that dashboards alone cannot fix.

Early warning systems are setup with great intentions but they lack guidance on the “what now?” aspect. You’ve identified adolescents at risk of dropping out – what now?

How can the state help a young boy who needs to start earning to support his family? How can the state help a young girl who needs to be married off out of safety concerns? Without addressing underlying conditions, early warning systems are merely a smoke screen.

What actually moves the needle (slowly)

The reasons for dropout are structural, societal, and run deeper than quick fixes can reach.

There is no single solution. Sustainable progress requires long-term, systemic work. We need to:

• Make learning interesting and relevant for students (and teachers!)
• Make schools safe and welcoming (painting the walls brightly is not gonna cut it)
• Provide vocational skills that can translate into income-generating activities
• Help teachers, administrators and officials empathise with students from all backgrounds
• Eliminate caste- and class-based discrimination (it is about time 🤷🏻‍♀️)

None of this is quick. All of it matters a lot more than a shiny new early warning dashboard.

If your next dropout study looks very similar to this post, well, I told you so. But that is not a failure. It is a signal that the problem is well understood and that we should look at fixing implementation rather than rediscovering known facts.