Bengaluru, Dec 27: Karnataka has ranked third in South India in the number of out-of-school children, according to data from the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development presented in Parliament.
The data, shared in response to a question by Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury, shows that in 2025–26 the state recorded 14,087 out-of-school children, including 6,462 adolescent girls, marking a significant increase compared to the previous academic year. In 2024–25, Karnataka had 9,422 out-of-school children, of which only 115 were girls, indicating a sharp rise in the number of girls dropping out of school.
Nationally, Karnataka ranks 12th, while Gujarat, Assam and Uttar Pradesh top the list of states with the highest number of out-of-school children.
Among southern states, Andhra Pradesh reported the highest number with 46,463 out-of-school children, including 17,584 girls, followed by Tamil Nadu with 19,897 children (9,054 girls). Telangana recorded 4,753 children (2,006 girls), while Kerala had the lowest figure at 1,773 out-of-school children, including 539 girls.
Despite multiple schemes implemented by both the Centre and the state, the problem of children being out of school remains unresolved. The Ministry said it supports states through initiatives such as Samagra Shiksha, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, residential schools, free uniforms and textbooks, and hostels for SC and ST girl students.
Officials and civil society groups have cited several factors contributing to school dropouts, including poor infrastructure, lack of toilets and drinking water, shortage of teachers, free and compulsory education being limited to 14 years of age, as well as child marriage and teenage pregnancies.
Karnataka currently has 46,460 schools, but around 170 schools still do not have toilet facilities, highlighting persistent infrastructure gaps. District-level data shows that 116 schools have between 11 and 20 students, 118 schools have 21 to 30 students, while only one school has more than 1,000 students.
In Dakshina Kannada, officials identified three out-of-school children, of whom two have already returned to school, while efforts are under way to bring back the third.
Calling for systemic reforms, Kathyayini Chamraj, Executive Trustee of CIVIC, urged the government to make pre-registration marriage certificates mandatory to curb child marriage. “Instead of police going to wedding halls to stop child marriage, government must make it mandatory for everybody to take a pre-registration marriage certificate from the tahsildar to validate the age of the couple,” she said.
Chamraj also called for free and compulsory education for adolescents aged 15 to 18, along with vocational and apprenticeship options, and stressed the need for better coordination among government departments to improve school infrastructure and basic facilities.
