Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Schools in the tribal districts of the state have recorded higher enrolment rates compared to other regions. Despite a concerning trend of dropouts, where 23.73 lakh students have left school from class 1 to 12 statewide, tribal areas have shown resilience and improvement. In every district of the state, this year’s student registrations have declined when compared to the previous year.
Barwani district emerged as the leader, with 2,40,407 students enrolled in class 1 to 12 for the 2024-25 session, although it was a slight drop from 2,57,202 in the previous year. Other districts such as Khargoneranked 8th with 3,04,021 enrolments, Jhabua 10th with 2,42,690, Anuppur 11th with 1,11,565, Shahdol 14th with 1,78,420, Betul 25th with 2,31,037, Alirajpur 37th with 1,32,126 and Dindori 29th with 1,19,982 enrolments. Among the tribal districts, only Ashoknagar and Bhind are ranked among the bottom 10, standing at 46th and 47th, respectively.
On the other hand, districts like Bhopal and Indore ranked 52 and 51. For the academic year 2023-24, as many as 1,37,84,369 students were registered in both private and government schools across the state. The new academic session for 2024-25 began on April 1, and as of June 16, only 1,14,10,911 students have registered.
Following the concerning decline in enrollment, the state education department has instructed the officials to achieve the 100 per cent target and enrol the children immediately. The department has also ordered the officials to start mapping the enrolled children.
Overall enrolment declines
The overall enrolment for the academic year 2024-25 stands at 84.8 per cent compared to the previous year, missing out on over 15.65 lakh students. Government schools have achieved an 87 per cent enrolment rate, reflecting a shortfall of 8.18 lakh. Enrolment for class 9 to 12 has particularly suffered, with a decrease of 8.08 lakh students.
Transition loss across all classes
There has been a transitional loss across all classes in the state. Compared to the previous year, there is a total shortfall of 6.63 lakh students in class 1 in both government and private schools. The transition loss from class 5 to 6 is 1.87 lakh. From class 8 to 9, the total shortfall is 2.85 lakh, and from class 10 to 11, it is 2.72 lakh.
