Opinion How – and why – the Right to Education ends too early for girls in India

School dropout is a critical barrier to the universalisation of education. It affects both genders, with recent evidence showing that more boys are dropping out than girls. It not only limits children’s future employment prospects, intellectual growth, and overall development but also exposes them to child labour and other vulnerabilities. For girls, it undermines their dignity, autonomy, and reproductive health choices. Dropping out also hinders economic progress and paths to sustainable development.

Despite decades of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, the issue remains a persistent problem in the five states. The report, based on triangulation with U-DISE data, suggests that dropout rates at the secondary ( grades 9-10) and higher secondary ( grades 11-12) levels are substantially higher than those at the primary (grades 1-5) and upper primary (grades 6-8) levels.

The RTE Act guarantees free and compulsory education only for children up to age 14. It is likely that a significant number of the children who reported as not attending school exceeded the 14-year age limit. Moreover, there is no specific government programme or regulatory framework in place to provide free and compulsory education for children older than 14 years. This makes them, especially girls, more vulnerable to various types of exploitation, especially early marriage.

The case of Bihar is slightly different, where girls started to drop out much earlier – 6.6 per cent in the upper primary and 6.8 per cent in the secondary level. This requires a more in-depth analysis to understand the higher dropout rate at the upper primary level.

Moreover, U-DISE data indicate a significant decline in the number of government schools between 2019 and 2025, possibly due to mergers or closures of schools. An estimated 32,500 schools were closed (23,000) or merged (9,500), affecting around 5.3 lakh children and contributing to an estimated 7.2 per cent drop in enrolment. School closure/merger may significantly increase the distance between habitation and schools, violating the norms prescribed in the RTE Act. This also affects children’s access to schooling.

Barriers to attending school are complex and intriguing. Among socio-cultural factors, early marriage can still be a primary motivating factor for not attending school. The prevalence of child marriage is a deeply rooted social issue, with persistently higher rates in many states, particularly in Bihar, Assam, and Rajasthan. Although there has been a significant decline in child marriage cases reported between 2022 and 2025, it remains a widespread problem that can lead to dropout among girls.

The survey identified several broad reasons for not attending school, including poor economic conditions, inadequate infrastructure, safety concerns, cultural norms/stigma, lack of transport, and other factors.

The report suggested several interventions to address the problem of dropout and achieve the universalisation of school education in India. It is crucial to implement multifaceted interventions that are sustained through collaboration between the government and civil society. Moreover, effective implementation of the RTE Act is essential to ensure that schooling is accessible to all children. Making necessary amendments to the RTE Act to include girls until 18 years of age or till the completion of the higher secondary level is essential for promoting education for girls and discouraging child marriage. Additionally, it is crucial to implement targeted retention programmes for girls to address school dropout rates and to implement scholarship schemes to incentivise school completion.

The writer is an Assistant Professor at the Indian Social Institute, New Delhi