KOHIMA — Nagaland
has witnessed a significant decrease in the dropout rate among students in the
secondary level during 2023-24, according to the UDISE Plus report.
However,
students’ enrolment decreased across the country, including Nagaland, during
the same academic year.
Since
2020, the dropout rate in the secondary level in the state has been above 15%
but it dropped to 10.29% in the latest UDISE plus report, which is the lowest
in five years.
An
analysis of the UDISE plus report over five years showed that the state witnessed
the highest dropout rate in the secondary level was in 2020-21 with a record of
24.4%. However, it may be noted that the world was hit by lockdown due to the Covid-19
pandemic during this period.
The
dropout rate in the following year -- 2021-22 – declined to 17.5%, while it slightly
increased to 19.44% during 2022-23.However,
the UDISE plus 2023-24 showed a significant decrease in the dropout rate during
the academic year at 10.29%.
The
report mentioned that the dropout rate considered during the study from 2020 to
2022 was from classes 9 to 10, while for 2022-2024 period, it was from classes
9 to 12.
In
the preparatory level (primary), that is from classes 3 to 5 (class 1 to 5
earlier), the dropout rate is comparatively lower at 10%.
In
2020-21, the report showed the dropout rate at 5.9% and 5% in the subsequent academic
year. An all-time-high dropout rate was reported in 2022-23 at 9.32% but
declined to 4.30% in 2023-24.
In
the middle level or formerly upper-primary (Class 6 to Class 8), the dropout
rate was 3.8% in 2020-21 and 4% in 2021-22. The highest dropout rate was
recorded in 2022-23 at 8.99%, while it was 5.81% in 2023-24.
According
to the UDISE Plus report 2023-24, there were zero dropouts in foundational
level. This is mainly due to admission of students from Anganwadi, standalone
private pre-primary school directly to Class I in recognised school, it stated.
The
dropout rate of the overall national data, per the UDISE+ 2023-24, is 3.7% in
preparatory, 5.2% in middle and 10.9% in secondary.
On
the enrolment front, the state witnessed a drop during 2023-24. Students’
enrolment chart showed a downward trend from 2020 to 2024 with highest
enrolment of 45, 0,098 in 2020-21 and lowest enrolment of 41, 2, 975 in
2023-24. The UDISE Plus report also showed an enrolment of 44, 3, 796 students
in 2021-22 and 41, 5, 655 students in 2022-23.
The
enrolment across the country also dropped, from 25.18 crore enrolments in 2022-23
to 24.8 crore in 2023-24.
It
may be mentioned that there are 2725 schools in Nagaland, including 1952
government schools, 72 private unaided recognized schools and one other, as per
the UDISE Plus 2023-2024 report.
