The high dropout rates in schools in several states, including Karnataka, during 2020-21, as revealed by data from the Ministry of Education, is a matter of concern when the education sector is considered to be recovering from the damage caused by the damage caused by the Covid pandemic. Karnataka, with a dropout rate of 14.6%, is in the company of states like Bihar and Gujarat, which had dropout rates higher than the national average of 12.6%.

Bihar had the highest rate at 20.7%, followed by Assam, Meghalaya, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh also had high dropout rates. The New Education Policy (NEP) has set the goal of achieving 100% Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) in schools by 2030. The continuing high dropout rates in many states will make it difficult to achieve it. Even the national dropout rate of 12.6% is high.