Need to retain students beyond Class 8: Economic Survey; supports open schooling
The Hindu
The Economic Survey emphasizes retaining students beyond Class 8, highlighting rural-urban school disparities and the need for policy interventions.
There is a need to retain school students beyond Class 8 as the secondary age-specific net enrolment remains low, the Economic Survey 2025-26 said.
According to the survey tabled in Parliament on Thursday (January 29, 2026) by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while India has improved enrolment at early levels, the secondary age-specific net enrolment rate (NER) remains low at 52.2%.
It said the scenario highlights the need to retain students beyond Class 8.
Read: Economic Survey 2025-26 LIVE
"A key issue is the uneven distribution of schools as 54% of schools offer only foundational-preparatory education, while just 17.1% provide secondary education in rural areas," it noted.
Urban areas have a higher share of secondary schools (38.1%). This disparity, the document highlighted, limits rural students' access to higher-level classes, resulting in "transition losses, increased travel time, and higher dropout rates".
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