SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir’s retention rate at the higher secondary level increased to 39.1 per cent in 2025-26 from 34.6 per cent in 2019-20, but remained well below the national average of 51.9 per cent, according to data presented by the Ministry of Education in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
The figures, based on the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), show that the Union Territory’s higher secondary retention rate has fluctuated over the period, reaching 48.4 per cent in 2021-22 before declining to 33.5 per cent in 2023-24 and subsequently recovering to 38.2 per cent in 2024-25 and 39.1 per cent in 2025-26.
The data was provided in response to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2390 on retention rates in school education, answered by Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary.
JK’s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at the primary level, however, stood at 114.4 per cent in 2025-26, up from 87.22 per cent in 2018-19. At the secondary level, the GER rose from 59.34 per cent to 67.1 per cent during the same period, while at the higher secondary level it increased from 43.18 per cent in 2018-19 to 46.8 per cent in 2025-26.
The transition rate from Class 10 to Class 11 in JK stood at 74.7 per cent for boys and 76.3 per cent for girls in 2025-26. This represented a recovery from 69.6 per cent for boys and 72.2 per cent for girls in 2023-24, although the rates remained below the 2022-23 levels of 89.4 per cent for boys and 87.5 per cent for girls.
At the national level, the higher secondary retention rate improved from 40.2 per cent in 2019-20 to 51.9 per cent in 2025-26. The all-India transition rate from secondary to higher secondary in 2025-26 was 75.5 per cent for boys and 80.7 per cent for girls.
The Ministry said the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24 identified supplementing household income and attending domestic chores among the major reasons why students never attended school.
The Centre said it supports States and Union Territories through the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha and provides hot cooked meals from Balvatika to Class 8 under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) scheme.
It said financial assistance is also provided for measures aimed at reducing dropouts and improving enrolment, including strengthening schools up to the senior secondary level, improving infrastructure, running Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas up to Class 12, residential schools and hostels, transport and escort facilities, enrolment drives, seasonal hostels and residential camps, vocational education, ICT facilities, free textbooks and uniforms.
The Ministry also listed hostels under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) among the interventions being supported to improve access to continuous schooling for marginalised communities.
