UDISE+ finds 54.5% of Gujarat students reach grade 12
A new UDISE+ report shows that in Gujarat, out of 11.5 million students across more than 53,000 schools, only about 54.5% actually reach 12th grade.
The big drop happens after middle school, while more than 90% of students stick around through the early years; nearly half leave before finishing secondary school.
Gujarat secondary dropout rate at 12.5%
Gujarat's secondary school dropout rate is now at 12.5%, much higher than the national average of 7%.
Girls are slightly more likely to stay in school (56.2%) compared to boys (53%), but both numbers are just above the national average.
The state also faces challenges like crowded classrooms (29 students per teacher versus India's average of 24) and some schools with no students but still on the payroll, which makes tackling dropouts even harder.