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The Hindu
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Centre asks States to take steps to check high secondary school dropout rates
School dropout rates at the secondary level were found to be high in a dozen States, including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Maharashtra, according to a report by a department of the Education Ministry. Also Read | School dropout rates go from bad to worse in Bihar and Assam The central government has suggested that the States take special steps to reduce the dropout rate as laid out in the National Education Policy, 2020. Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand and Punjab were also found to have high school dropout rates. The information on dropout rates at the secondary school level was obtained from the minutes of the meetings of the Project Approval Board (PAB), which comes under the Ministry of Education. The meetings Samagra Shiksha programme for 2025-26 were held between April and May this year with different states. According to officials, the government wants to achieve a 100% Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) at the school level by 2030 as targeted in the NEP, 2020 and considers dropout as a hindrance. According to the PAB report, the dropout rate in 2023-24 at the secondary level in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tripura, Karnataka, Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu remains an area of concern. The Centre has advised these states to initiate a special enrolment drive in the form of door-to-door surveys in school catchment areas to identify out-of-school children (OoSC) and to ensure their admissions. In Bihar, as per the report, there were "large variations" in the reporting of data, especially on OoSC on the PRABANDH portal. The state was directed to initiate a special enrolment drive with the involvement of school management committees to ensure the identification and admission of all OoSC. The report said 57.06 per cent of school students in Delhi study in government-run schools which make up 48.99 per cent of schools in the national capital. The PAB expressed concern at the enrolment rate in government schools and suggested that Delhi should prioritise the improvement of Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) and Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) -- both measures of participation in education -- at higher secondary level in the coming years. In West Bengal, the annual dropout rate at the secondary school level is 17.87%. The state was advised to check the data and work on factors responsible for the high dropout rate. In Tamil Nadu, the dropout rate at the secondary level — 7.7% — needs to be addressed. The state needs to improve on its 82.9 per cent Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at the higher secondary level and ensure 100 per cent as aimed in NEP. In Karnataka, the dropout rate at secondary levels — 22.1% — is higher than the national average for secondary — 4.1% — and therefore, needs to be addressed, the report said.
Hindustan Times
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Centre asks states to take steps to check high secondary school dropout rates
New Delhi, School dropout rates at the secondary level were found to be high in a dozen states, including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, according to a report by a department of the Education Ministry. The central government has suggested that the states take special steps to reduce the dropout rate as laid out in the National Education Policy, 2020. Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand and Punjab were also found to have high school dropout rates. The information on dropout rates at the secondary school level was obtained from the minutes of the meetings of the Project Approval Board , which comes under the Ministry of Education. The meetings Samagra Shiksha programme for 2025-26 were held between April and May this year with different states. According to officials, the government wants to achieve a 100 per cent Gross Enrolment Rate at the school level by 2030 as targeted in the NEP, 2020 and considers dropout as a hindrance. According to the PAB report, the dropout rate in 2023-24 at the secondary level in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tripura, Karnataka, Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu remains an area of concern. The Centre has advised these states to initiate a special enrolment drive in the form of door-to-door surveys in school catchment areas to identify out-of-school children and to ensure their admissions. In Bihar, as per the report, there were "large variations" in the reporting of data, especially on OoSC on the PRABANDH portal. The state was directed to initiate a special enrolment drive with the involvement of school management committees to ensure the identification and admission of all OoSC. The report said 57.06 per cent of school students in Delhi study in government-run schools which make up 48.99 per cent of schools in the national capital. The PAB expressed concern at the enrolment rate in government schools and suggested that Delhi should prioritise the improvement of Gross Enrolment Ratio and Net Enrolment Ratio both measures of participation in education at higher secondary level in the coming years. In West Bengal, the annual dropout rate at the secondary school level is 17.87 per cent. The state was advised to check the data and work on factors responsible for the high dropout rate. In Tamil Nadu, the dropout rate at the secondary level 7.7 per cent needs to be addressed. The state needs to improve on its 82.9 per cent Gross Enrolment Ratio at the higher secondary level and ensure 100 per cent as aimed in NEP. In Karnataka, the dropout rate at secondary levels 22.1 per cent is higher than the national average for secondary 14.1 per cent and therefore, needs to be addressed, the report said.
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
UP records highest transition rate from secondary to senior secondary schools
Lucknow: With a transition rate of 76.7% from secondary to senior secondary, Uttar Pradesh not only leads the country but also surpasses the national average of 71.5%, according to the latest report from the Project Approval Board (PAB) meeting held under the Union Ministry of Education for the academic session 2025-26. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now However, the state needs to work towards improving the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) and Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) at all levels—primary, upper primary, and secondary, says the report. While GER is the total enrollment in a particular level of school education, regardless of age, NER is the total number of pupils enrolled in a particular level of school education who are of the corresponding official age. Currently, the GER at the primary level stands at 82.9%, upper primary at 78.8%, secondary at 63.8%, and higher secondary at 53.2%. The NER at primary, upper primary, secondary, and higher secondary levels stand at 67%, 49.4%, 30.7%, and 23.8% respectively. The report shows that the state govt has committed to filling the vacant posts of teachers at all levels by March 2026. At present, 22.7% (1.81 lakh) posts are vacant at the elementary level, 40.4% (3,872) at the secondary level, and 59.7% (8,714) at the senior secondary level. Similarly, 16.7% of academic posts are lying vacant in the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and 42.7% in District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs). Reiterating the issue of single-teacher schools, UP was asked to take corrective action to ensure an adequate number of teachers in all schools, particularly at the elementary level. The state has 2,586 primary and 3,109 upper primary single-teacher schools. Likewise, the number of schools with less than 30 enrolments is quite high, with 7,037 primary and 1,859 upper primary schools. Moreover, the number of schools with less than 15 enrolments has increased substantially at the primary level, from 816 in 2022-23 to 1,329 in 2023-24, the report pointed out. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Nevertheless, UP has shown a decline in zero-enrolment schools, and the number of schools with an adverse pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) has decreased. The report has lauded the state's efforts towards mainstreaming Out of School Children (OoSC) with 100% coverage. For 2025-26, 68,913 OoSC have been identified. The report suggested that state officials initiate a special enrollment drive in the form of door-to-door surveys in school catchment areas to identify OoSC. To further enhance the accuracy of this identification, the state was also advised to analyse complementary data from sources such as the Registrar of Births and Deaths, Anganwadi centres, and the PM Poshan scheme. In addition, the report finds that almost 70% of the secondary and senior secondary schools do not have ICT labs and smart classrooms. Almost 40% of schools do not have subject-specific labs like physics, chemistry, and biology.
Indian Express
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
50% students left out of mid-day meal, Centre seeks report from state
A sharp decline in the number of students availing the Mid-Day Meal (PM-POSHAN) in West Bengal — 10 lakh fewer students availing the scheme in 2025-26 as compared to 2023-24 – points to increasing school dropouts in the state. According to the latest minutes of the Programme Approval Board (PAB) under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN), more than 40 per cent of enrolled students did not avail of the mid-day meal in 2024-25 in 15 districts of the state, with Cooch Behar having the least coverage of 46 per cent. Expressing 'serious concern' over this trend, the Additional Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Government of India, has sought a report from the West Bengal government by June 30. The PAB noted a reduction of 4.01 lakh in students' enrolment from 2023-24 to 2024-25, and a decrease of 8.04 lakh in actual student coverage. The state's proposed enrolment for 2025-26 has dropped by another 6 lakh students. 'The PAB expressed that efforts may be made to cover all the eligible students under the (Mid-Day Meal) scheme,' the minutes of PAB read. While coverage of the PM-Poshan at the pre-primary and primary levels stood at 78 per cent and 74 per cent, respectively, it fell sharply at the upper primary level to just 58 per cent according to the minute's data. According to the data, 1,13,44,146 students were enrolled in PM-POSHAN in 2024-25. However, only 77,91,946 — about 69 per cent — received meals. The numbers were worse in districts like Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Malda, Murshidabad, Paschim Bardhaman, and North 24 Parganas districts, where less than half the enrolled students availed the meals. (See box) For 2025-26, the PAB has approved coverage for 80,16,881 students—7,25,624 in balvatika (pre-primary), 48,09,138 in primary, and 24,82,119 in upper primary classes, according to the minutes. The minutes also flagged irregularities in fund management. 'The PAB expressed concern that some schools, implementing agencies, and municipal corporations are still holding funds outside the Single Nodal Agency (SNA) accounts. The state has been advised to transfer these funds immediately and take action against officials responsible for the delays and violations of Government of India guidelines,' the minutes noted. Sources in the state School Education Department cited an increased dropout rate, especially at the upper primary level, as a key reason for the falling numbers. 'It is common practice to avail maximum funds. Sometimes the state gives increased numbers as enrolled students. But, in this case, the actual number of students is much less, which means dropout rates have increased in the state education system,' said a senior official of the state education department. He added that frequent long vacations, decreasing school days, and a widening teacher-student ratio due to unfilled vacancies have all contributed to students leaving the system. Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
150 ESG ETFs Renamed in Response to New ESMA Naming Rules
A vast number of ESG ETFs and others removed sustainability-related terms from their names ahead of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) fund naming guidelines deadline on May 21. A report by independent financial advocacy group Finanzwende, alongside Urgewald and Facing Finance stressed that the simple renaming of funds is evidence of fund promoters 'evading responsibility through semantic tricks.' The report analyzed 827 ETFs from a total of 15,222 funds. Of these ETFs, 529 included a term in their name suggesting alignment with the Paris-Aligned Benchmark (PAB) criteria, which means fossil fuel companies should be excluded. Since ESMA published the fund-naming guidelines in May 2024, the research found 150 of these products have either removed or replaced sustainability-related terms. Of the 150 ETFs that removed the term, 113 replaced it with a term that does not require the exclusion of fossil fuel companies and 37 removed the term entirely. Authors of the recent report warned the previous misalignment of fund names and corresponding baskets has created distrust within the industry. Alison Schultz, consultant at Finanzwende said, "If a fund calls itself 'sustainable' while simultaneously investing in fossil fuel expansion, that is simply misleading. Such products should have been sanctioned long ago. The financial supervisory authority BaFin is called upon to continue to take consistent action in this regard." Meanwhile, some professional investors have taken a more sanguine view. Paris Jordan, head of Responsible Investing at Charles Stanley previously told ETF Stream, "At a broad level, this is a good step. It is positive because it means we will finally be speaking the same language and until now, we have not … in the long run, [the fund-naming guidelines] will help us move forward in the right direction." ETF Stream has reported a regular cadence of issuers cutting the term out of their name in favor of more ambiguous terms, such as "scored and screened." The largest relabelling sweep came from BlackRock, which removed the "ESG" label from its iShares MSCI ESG Screened UCITS ETF range and BSF Systematic ESG World Equity Fund, which contains 56 strategies housing $51 billion of assets under management. This article was originally published at sister publication ETF | © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved
