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Karnataka's Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in secondary education has reached 101.3%, marking a 22.46 percentage point increase over the past decade, according to NITI Aayog's report 'School Education System In India: Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement'. The report attributes the rise to improved access and retention, with Karnataka ranking among six states and Union Territories where secondary GER exceeds 100%.
Other high-performing regions include Chandigarh (110.1%), Goa (107.5%), and Delhi (101.1%), while Bihar (51.1%) and Nagaland (61.8%) remain significantly below the national average. At higher secondary level, Chandigarh leads with 107.4%, while Karnataka records a transition rate of 62.5% from secondary to higher secondary, below the national leaders.
The report notes sharp improvements in female enrolment at upper-primary level in Karnataka, rising from 90.58% to 103.9%, and in states like Chandigarh and Meghalaya. However, learning outcomes have declined across most states, including Karnataka, with particularly steep drops in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Telangana. Dropout rates remain high in Karnataka (18.3%), shared with Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal.
School infrastructure gaps persist despite enrolment gains: only 55.7% of schools in Karnataka have computer facilities, compared to near-universal coverage in Delhi, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry. Assam and Jharkhand recorded the largest improvements in computer access, while Karnataka's progress in this area was among the slowest.
The report identifies secondary education as the most fragile segment of the schooling cycle due to economic, social, and institutional barriers. NITI Aayog will present the findings to state education departments for integration into the national policy roadmap for quality enhancement.