MANGALURU: Karnataka has emerged as the major state with the highest dropout rate among girl students at the secondary school level, despite a steady decline over the past three years, according to the latest Unified District Information System for Education Plus data tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
The data for 2025-26 shows that 13.9% of girls in Classes 9 and 10 dropped out of school in Karnataka, significantly higher than the national average of 8%. While Karnataka’s figure has improved from 19.6% in 2023–24 and 14.6% in 2024-25, it continues to remain the highest among India’s larger states.
The national average has also shown a consistent decline in this category, falling from 12.6% in 2023-24 to 9.6% in 2024-25 and 8% in 2025-26, indicating that Karnataka’s progress has not kept pace with improvements seen elsewhere. Union Territory Ladakh tops the country in the highest dropout rate in this category at 15.6%.
Bihar, which recorded an alarming 25.1% dropout rate in 2023-24, has brought it down dramatically to 9.1% in 2025-26. Uttar Pradesh has maintained a relatively lower dropout rate, reporting 7.3% in both 2023-24 and 2025-26, with a dip to 5.1% in 2024-25.
Among the larger states, Assam (13.9%) matched Karnataka’s dropout rate in 2025-26, followed by Gujarat (13.3%). In contrast, Kerala (3%), Tamil Nadu (3.2%) and Haryana (3.8%) reported the lowest rates.