Retention rate below 50% in BMC schools, finds report

A report reveals alarming retention rates below 50% in BMC schools, highlighting concerns in Mumbai's education system.

The retention rate in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools has remained low over the last decade, with only 48 of every 100 students enrolled in Class 1 in 2015–16 reaching Class 10 by 2024–25, according to a report released by Praja Foundation on Friday (March 13, 2026).

According to the report, titled ‘State of Municipal Education in Mumbai’, during the period, the transition of students from Class 8 to Class 9 declined by 30%, and only 80% of students moved from Class 9 to Class 10.

“The figures are alarming and require further analysis. However, many students also move to other State-run schools after Class 8. This is something that needs to be examined to understand the dropout pattern,” said Dr Prachi Jambhekar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Education), BMC.

The foundation conducted the study based on data obtained through the Right to Information Act from the BMC Education Department and Dropbox data under the urban resource category. However, it found that granular data — such as ward-wise, standard-wise, and gender-wise details — were not available at the education department headquarters. Dropbox is a student management tool in UDISE Plus that tracks students who have discontinued schooling or are at risk of dropping out.

An official said the report focused on enrolment, dropouts, health check-ups, personnel, and the budget. It showed a 10-year trend in which the proportion of students enrolled in BMC schools increased from 41% in 2015–16 to 44% in 2024–25.

The report suggested that student enrolment has gradually declined in vernacular-medium schools, while enrolment has increased in English-medium schools. “Enrolment in Marathi- and Hindi-medium schools decreased by 34% and 39% respectively, while English-medium schools saw a 54% increase in enrolment,” the report stated.