New Delhi: The government on Thursday informed Parliament that the annual average dropout rate at the primary school level in the country was 4.13 per cent in 2014-15.
Replying to supplemnetaries during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, HRD minister Prakash Javadekar said the dropout rate for the boys at the primary level during this period was 4.36 per cent and for the girls was 3.88 per cent.
According to the data provided by Mr Javadekar, the dropout rate in upper primary level for 2014-15 was 4.03 per cent, while the same for secondary level was 17.06 per cent.
He said that many cases of children dropping out took place at the ninth class level due to the no-detention policy.
The minister said that exams are held in Class 9 and students do not know much, observing that many schools had just become midday meal schools, where children came, had a meal and left while their education suffered.
He said to solve this problem, the ministry had brought in learning outcomes and training had also been provided to 15 lakh teachers trained, he said.
The human resources development minister said non-availability of separate toilets for girls was a major reason and the Modi government in its first year took steps to resolve this issue.
