Nagaland recorded major declines in school dropout rates over a decade, though secondary-level dropout challenges persist statewide
Share
KOHIMA — Nagaland has recorded significant reductions in school dropout rates across the primary, upper primary and secondary stages over the last decade (2014-15 to 2024-25), although the state continues to remain among those with relatively high dropout rates in the country.
According to the NITI Aayog report School Education System in India, released this month, Nagaland was among the top 10 states with the highest pre-primary dropout rate at 2.8% in 2024-25. However, the state also registered one of the sharpest declines in pre-primary dropout rates, from 19.4% in 2014-15 to 2.8% in 2024-25.
Nagaland also witnessed a sharp decline in upper primary dropout rates, which fell from 17.85% in 2014-15 to 4.7% in 2024-25.
At the secondary level, Nagaland continued to figure among the states with the highest dropout rates at 12.1%. However, the state recorded a substantial improvement over the decade, with the rate declining from 35.1% in 2014-15 to 12.1% in 2024-25.
The report stated that the national dropout rate remained low at 0.3% at the primary level, indicating strong retention during the foundational years.
Also read: NITI report: Nagaland sees major rise in school transition rates
Nagaland National Lok Adalat settles 220 cases amounting to over INR 3.66 crore
The figure rises to 3.5% at the upper primary stage, where more students begin leaving the system, and increases sharply to 11.5% at the secondary level, highlighting significant barriers to completing higher stages of schooling.
Statistics showed that during 2024-25, a total of 22 states and Union Territories reported zero or near-zero dropout rates at the primary stage, reflecting near-universal retention.
However, some states continued to face challenges, with Mizoram recording the highest primary dropout rate at 10.8%, followed by Arunachal Pradesh (4.8%), Meghalaya (4.2%), Assam (3.8%), Rajasthan (3.6%), Bihar (2.9%), Manipur (2.9%), Nagaland (2.8%), Tamil Nadu (2.7%), Ladakh (2.6%) and Punjab (2.5%).
Nevertheless, primary dropout rates declined significantly in several states over the decade. Remarkable improvements were recorded in Nagaland, where the rate fell from 19.4% to 2.8%, Manipur from 18% to 2.9%, and Rajasthan from 8.4% to 3.6%.
At the upper primary level, the highest dropout rate was observed in Mizoram at 11.6%. Significant reductions in upper primary dropout rates were also seen in Manipur (7.02% to 0.6%), Jharkhand (7.42% to 1.7%), Nagaland (17.85% to 4.7%) and Sikkim (5.14% to 2.7%).
The report stated that secondary-level dropout rates in 2024-25 presented a deeply concerning picture nationally, with Nagaland again figuring among the states with the highest dropout rates at 12.1%. However, the state recorded a notable decline over the decade, from 35.1% in 2014-15 to 12.1% in 2024-25.
Records also showed that Nagaland registered the second-highest increase in transition rates from primary to upper primary, improving from 78.69% to 91.5%. However, the state remained among those with comparatively low transition rates from upper primary to secondary at 83.8%.
According to the data, the transition rate from secondary to higher secondary in Nagaland stood at 75.3%.