SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir continues to face a significant challenge in retaining students through the higher secondary stage, with only 39.1 per cent of students retained in 2025-26, considerably below the national rate of 51.9 per cent, according to data presented by the Ministry of Education in the Lok Sabha.
The figures, based on the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), show that Jammu and Kashmir’s higher secondary retention rate has improved only marginally over the past year, rising from 38.2 per cent in 2024-25 to 39.1 per cent in 2025-26. The rate was 33.5 per cent in 2023-24, after having stood at 48.3 per cent in 2022-23.
The latest figure also places Jammu and Kashmir well below the national retention rate, which has steadily increased from 40.2 per cent in 2019-20 to 51.9 per cent in 2025-26.
The retention figures assume greater significance against the backdrop of relatively strong enrolment at the primary level in J&K. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at the primary level rose from 87.22 per cent in 2018-19 to 114.4 per cent in 2025-26. The GER crossed 100 per cent in 2020-21 and has remained above that level since then.
The picture changes substantially as students move up the education ladder.
At the secondary level, J&K’s GER stood at 67.1 per cent in 2025-26, up from 66.1 per cent in 2024-25 and 59.34 per cent in 2018-19. At the higher secondary level, however, the GER was only 46.8 per cent in 2025-26, compared with 44.8 per cent a year earlier and 43.18 per cent in 2018-19.
The data therefore shows a pronounced gap between participation at the primary stage and continuation into higher secondary education.
There is, however, a relatively stronger picture when it comes to the transition from Class 10 to Class 11. In 2025-26, 74.7 per cent of boys and 76.3 per cent of girls in Jammu and Kashmir transitioned from secondary to higher secondary education. The corresponding figures were 71.7 per cent for boys and 74.2 per cent for girls in 2024-25.
The transition rate has fluctuated considerably in recent years. In 2022-23, it stood at 89.4 per cent for boys and 87.5 per cent for girls, before falling to 69.6 per cent and 72.2 per cent respectively in 2023-24. It subsequently recovered in 2024-25 and 2025-26.
The gender figures also show that girls in J&K have maintained a slightly higher transition rate than boys in the latest two years, with the gap standing at 1.6 percentage points in 2025-26.
The Ministry, in its Lok Sabha response, said the major reasons identified nationally for students never attending school include the need to supplement household income and domestic chores, citing the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2023-24.
The Centre said it supports States and Union Territories through schemes including Samagra Shiksha and PM POSHAN, besides financial assistance for measures aimed at reducing dropout and increasing enrolment. These include strengthening schools, residential facilities, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, transport and escort facilities, seasonal hostels and residential camps, vocational education, ICT facilities, free textbooks and uniforms.
For Jammu and Kashmir, the latest data suggests that the key challenge is no longer simply getting children into school at the primary level, but ensuring that they remain in the education system as they approach the higher secondary stage.
With the higher secondary retention rate at just 39.1 per cent, the data indicates that a substantial proportion of students who enter the school system are not being retained through the final years of school education. The figures underscore the need for greater attention to the transition from secondary to higher secondary education and to the factors that push students out of formal schooling before completing their school education.
