Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas retain only 50% higher-class students despite improved enrolment: Govt data

Less than half the girls who start secondary level at Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas actually complete it, shows data from the education ministry, shared with parliament. While retention rates of the KGBVs have improved over the years, it remains below 50%. The rate at middle school, Classes 6-8, was a healthier 84.2% in 2024-2025.

Similarly the dropout rate at secondary level – Classes 9 and 12 – is 6.6% as against 2.9% in the middle level. The details were provided as a reply to a question raised in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

The KGBV scheme was launched two decades ago to provide residential education in Classes 6 to 8 for girls from marginalised, poverty-stricken communities – Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, minorities and those living below poverty line. In 2018-19, the elementary education scheme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, was merged with secondary-education scheme, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), to form Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. Along with that, KGBVs under SSA and a girls’ hostel component originally funded through RMSA were merged; the new plan was to upgrade all KGBVs up to Class 12.

That has not happened yet and currently, KGBVs are categorised into four types:

• Type 1: Classes 6-10 | School with hostel or only hostel

• Type 2: Classes 6 to 10 | School with hostel or only hostel

• Type 3: classes 6 to 12 | School with hostel or only hostel

• Type 4: Classes 9 to 12 | Only hostel

Out of the total 5,639 KGBVs across the country, 370 are still non-functional, as of December 5, 2025.

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Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya: Low retention rate

Retention rate is the percentage of students who stay enrolled through a specific cycle of education.

Data shared in response to a question raised by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh shows that retention, despite rising steadily, remains appallingly low. The rates are given below.

The all India average retention rate is 82.8% at the middle level and 47.2% at the secondary level in 2024-25.

The dropout rate has improved over the years, falling from 8.3% in 2022-23 to 2.9% in 2024-25. The secondary-level dropout rate fell from 12.6% to 6.6% over the same period.

The national dropout rates, as per UDISE+, stand at 1. % for primary, 5.2% for upper primary, and 14.1% for secondary levels.

There are 7.58 lakh girls enrolled in KGBVs across the country, of whom 2.64 lakh belong to the OBC communities, 2.06 lakh are SC and 1.77 lakh, ST. The remaining 1,10,807 are from BPL communities.

The KGBV enrolment is an increase from 6,91,304 in 2023-24.

KGBVs in UP, Telangana

There are a total of 5,269 functional KGBVs across the country. Of them, 783 are in Uttar Pradesh and 721 in Telangana. There are still 58 non-functional KGBV in UP and 15 in Telangana.

Telangana has the maximum students enrolled at 1,77,009, followed by Andhra Pradesh at 1,03,733. In Andhra Pradesh, where there are 587 sanctioned KGBVs, 499 are functional.

All Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh are functional. Kerala and Sikkim have just one each; the first has 80 students and Sikkim’s, 156.

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Jharkhand’s adverse pupil-teacher ratio

Of all states, Jharkhand’s pupil-teacher ratio is the highest, at 50:1. And it has remained constant over five years. The state has a total of 71,050 students enrolled.

Among other states, the highest ratio stands 30:1.

In Telangana, which has the maximum number of students enrolled, as well as in UP, the ratio stands at 16:1.

In several states, including West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab and Uttarakhand, KGBVs are only hostels.