18% girls drop out of school before higher secondary

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12

A report — ‘Children in India 2018’ — released recently by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme has revealed that more than 18 per cent girls enrolled in official age group of primary classes (I to V) drop out of school before entering the higher secondary (XI to XII).

According to the net enrolment ratio, more than 21 per cent girls dropped out of school while entering the higher secondary education from upper primary (class VI to VIII) and there is a decline of 18.3 per cent (girls) while enrolment from upper primary to the secondary level (class X).

The reports reported an increase of 14 per cent in the gross enrolment ratio (GER), including boys and girls from primary to upper primary level — till class VIII. However, eight per cent students dropped out of school after class VIII.

Poor health indicators in city

Chandigarh was found among the lowest cities with respect to minimum acceptable diet for children — only less than three per cent of children aged 6 to 23 years receive the appropriate diet. Infants and young children should be fed a minimum acceptable diet (MAD) to ensure appropriate growth and development.

The prevalence of anaemia among children (aged 6-59 months) is the highest in Chandigarh (73.1%).