3-day enrolment drive over, nearly 50,000 dropouts still remain ‘absent’ in Gujarat schools

3 min readAhmedabadJun 25, 2026 09:20 PM IST

Nearly 49,850 children who had dropped out during the last academic session were not able to be re-enrolled to their respective classes or any other education system at the end of the enrolment drive on Thursday. (File photo)

Nearly 50,000 drop out students still remain out-of-school (OoS) in Gujarat at the end of three-day annual enrolment drive Shala Praveshotsav and Kanya Kelavani that concluded on Thursday, according to government data.

Earlier, following a survey, the state government had identified 6.41 lakh Class I-X students across 44,000 government and grant-in aid schools in Gujarat who have dropped out during the 2025-26 academic session.

With the focus on bringing back the out-of-school children, just ahead of the 24th edition of annual Shala Praveshotsav and Kanya Kelavani, nearly 2 lakh government teachers were given the task of tracking the 6.41 lakh drop out students during the summer vacations.

As reported by The Indian Express, on the first day of the 3-day enrolment drive, Minister of State for Primary, Secondary and Adult Education Rivaba Jadeja visited the houses of a few drop out students in Sabarkantha’s tribal taluka of Poshina to convince students and their parents.

According to the data compiled by the state government and accessed by this newspaper, nearly 49,850 children who had dropped out during the last academic session were not able to be re-enrolled to their respective classes or any other education system at the end of the enrolment drive on Thursday.

Every district was asked to survey the drop outs from each school and track them with the help of their unique identification (UID) number, contact their parents and convince them to join the education system again.

The state government has also started transportation facilities in over 26,000 schools during the shala praveshotsav.

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During the survey of out of school children, it was found that the most common factor leading to the drop out was the need to change schools. For instance, Gujarat has nearly 10,000 government schools which offer education till Class V and students have to change schools from Class VI, leading some of them to drop out.  Similar is the case in Class VIII, Class IX and Class X to XI.

During the three-day drive, 1.05 lakh students were admitted in Class I in nearly 34,000 government primary schools and 4.33 lakh children in Balwatikas against an estimated number of 4.34 lakh children eligible for enrolment.

Also, the enrolment data of Class IX and XI achieved so far during the three day enrolment drive is 5.91 lakh and 3.08 lakh, respectively.

Shala Praveshotsav and Kanya Kelavani was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the  2003-04 academic year when he was the Chief Minister of the state.

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This year, the state government is focussing on the out of school children estimated to be around 6.41 lakh. As a part of the enrolment drive, Cabinet Ministers, IAS, IPS and IFS officers to local administrators and elected members fan out across the state to enrol children to schools.

Enrolment drive numbers

Number of  dropout students in state in 2025-26: 6.41 lakh

Drop out students still remain to be enrolled after 3-day drive- 49, 850

Enrolment during 3-day drive

Class I – 1.05 lakh

Balwatika—4.33 lakh

Class IX – 5.91 lakh

Class XI – 3.08 lakh

© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd

Ritu Sharma is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express' Gujarat bureau, an editorial position that reflects her experience and Authority in regional journalism. With over a decade of concentrated reporting experience, she is a highly Trustworthy and specialized journalist, especially noted for her Expertise in the education sector across Gujarat and previously Chandigarh.

Expertise

Primary Authority (Education): With over ten years of dedicated reporting on education in both Gujarat and Chandigarh, Ritu Sharma is a foremost authority on educational policy, institutional governance, and ground realities from "KG to PG." Her coverage includes:

Higher Education: In-depth scrutiny of top institutions like IIM-Ahmedabad (controversies over demolition/restoration of heritage architecture), IIT-Bombay (caste discrimination issues), and new initiatives like international branch campuses in GIFT City.

Schooling & Policy: Detailed coverage of government schemes (Gyan Sadhana School Voucher Scheme), the implementation and impact of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, teacher recruitment issues, and the impact of national policies like the NEP.

Student Welfare: Reporting on critical issues such as suicide allegations due to caste discrimination, and the challenges faced by students (e.g., non-delivery of NAMO tablets). ... Read More

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