Bengaluru: In the past one decade, Karnataka has made the biggest improvement in gross enrolment at the higher secondary level, according to a report by NITI Aayog released Thursday.As per the report, School Education System in India: Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement, the largest relative improvement in enrolment during the past decade was seen in Karnataka (29.7% → 61.4%). Other states or Union territories with improvement include Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (38.2%, 38.% → 68.4%), Bihar (22.4% → 38.1%), and Assam (28.5% → 43.5%).The report also notes that states that began from very low levels registered some of the steepest gains, yet continue to remain at the lower end. Those with stronger baselines have built on their advantage and are now close to universal coverage.According to UDISE (Unified District Information System for Education Plus) 2024-25, Karnataka ranks 15th in gross enrolment at the higher secondary level, with several states like Kerala (89.5%), West Bengal (81%), and Maharashtra (71%) performing way better. The national average is 58.4%.In secondary level too, Karnataka’s improvement is noteworthy. The significant relative improvements are in West Bengal (75.2% → 99.4%), Telangana (76.7% → 99.9%), Karnataka (78.8% → 101.%), Andhra Pradesh (71.% → 89.4%), and Meghalaya (70.6% → 86.2%).Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) measures the total enrolment in a particular level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the official age-group population for that level.The transition rates (students moving from one class to the next), just like the national trend, reduce as the grades get higher. While it is 98% for primary to upper primary, it is 97% for upper primary to secondary, and 63% from secondary to higher secondary.“Enrolments in Karnataka have picked up during the last six to seven years, specifically during the last four to five years. There was already saturation in GER (gross enrolment ratio) at primary (2006) and upper primary (2012). Now, with the popularisation of class 1 to 12 public school system, enrolments at secondary/higher secondary are on a fast track,” said AS Seetharamu, former faculty at the Institute for Social and Economic Change.“Earlier, transition to a new, bigger village for schooling was a problem. Karnataka Public Schools have addressed this issue… Better road connectivity, hub-and-spoke models, better quality infrastructure and better pupil-teacher ratio also explain the jump,” he said.“The concern is only about retention of children, which can be possible only with a guarantee of quality schooling. Learning is the best incentive for longevity in the school life of children,” he added.BOX:Only half of schools have internet accessNITI Aayog made a scathing remark on the state’s internet facility. “Karnataka, home to Bengaluru, the country’s leading IT hub, has only about half of its schools (50.7%) connected to the internet, reflecting a stark contrast between the state’s global digital profile and its basic educational infrastructure,” it said.However, the department of school education has denied it, citing wrong reporting of figures. NITI Aayog has used the data from UDISE 2024-25, the latest available through U-DISE.BOX1:Secondary dropoutrates in 2024-25Chandigarh (2.0%)Jharkhand (3.5%)Lakshadweep (4.1%)Uttarakhand (4.6%)Kerala (4.8%)Odisha (15.0%)Chhattisgarh (15.3%)Andhra Pradesh (15.5%)Ladakh (16.2%)Madhya Pradesh (16.8%)Gujarat (16.9%)Mizoram (17.4%)Meghalaya (17.4%)Assam (17.5%)Arunachal Pradesh (18.3%)Karnataka (18.3%)West Bengal (20%)
