Over 1.17 million out-of-school children in India, 784,228 in Uttar Pradesh

In the first eight months of the 2024-25 fiscal year, over 1.17 million children across India have been identified as out-of-school, according to data presented in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The Union Minister of State for Education, Jayant Chaudhary, revealed that Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of Out-of-School Children (OoSC) at 784,228, followed by Jharkhand with 65,070 and Assam with 63,848.

The Ministry of Education tracks these figures through its PRABANDH portal (Project Appraisal, Budgeting, Achievements, and Data Handling System), which is updated by states and Union Territories.

Children categorised as OoSC are those between six and 14 years of age who have never enrolled in school or have dropped out after being absent for 45 days without prior notice.

While no out-of-school children were reported in the Union Territories of Ladakh and Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands recorded just two, and Puducherry had four.

Amongst states, Sikkim reported the lowest number with 74 children identified as out-of-school.

According to the UDISE+ portal maintained by the Ministry of Education, a total of 265.2 million children were enrolled in schools during the 2021-22 academic year, including 127.3 million girls and 137.9 million boys.

The data highlights the urgent need for targeted efforts to bring out-of-school children back into the education system.