Jaipur: Rajasthan has emerged as the state with the highest number of integrated schools offering Classes 1 to 12 in the country, but concerns remain over low enrollment of girls in senior secondary education, according to a report released by NITI Aayog, Thursday. The report stated that Rajasthan has 27,889 composite schools, accounting for nearly 35% of the national total. However, it flagged that the gross enrollment ratio (GER) of girls in higher secondary education in the state remains below national goals despite improvements over the past decade. According to the report, Rajasthan recorded a girls’ GER of 65.1% in senior secondary education. The state was grouped with Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal (57.2% each), Mizoram (58.8%), Manipur (59.3%), Chhattisgarh and Tripura (60.8% each), and Odisha (63.7%), where enrollment levels remain comparatively low. “Although these states have improved compared to the extremely low levels recorded in 2014-15, their current gross enrollment ratio for girls in higher secondary education remains low. The marginal gains achieved are insufficient, leaving them far behind national goals of equitable access,” the report stated. The report also highlighted teacher shortages in Rajasthan, mentioning 3,856 vacancies in elementary schools, 1,365 in secondary schools and 14,949 vacancies at the senior secondary level. School education expert KB Kothari said girls in Rajasthan often drop out either at an early stage or after secondary education due to household responsibilities, early marriage and safety concerns during travel or within schools. He added that even where schools up to Class 12 exist, lack of subject options and teachers also contributes to dropouts. At the same time, NITI Aayog praised Rajasthan’s school rationalization program aimed at addressing inefficiencies in the state’s fragmented school network. The report noted that nearly 35% of schools previously had fewer than 30 students per grade and suffered from poor infrastructure and teacher shortages. Under the programme, the state consolidated 2,866 primary and 2,997 upper primary schools into larger institutions and introduced Adarsh Vidyalayas at the gram panchayat level to improve retention, infrastructure and teacher deployment.
