New Delhi: Nearly 73% of students enrolled in government and government-aided schools dropped out before completing their higher secondary education, a parliamentary panel on education flagged on Wednesday.The finding was part of the Tenth Report (Eighteenth Lok Sabha) of the Committee on Estimates (2026-27) on “Budget and Policy aspects for providing Affordable and Quality Education in the Country including Review of Central Board of Secondary Education”.The panel also flagged a shortage of revised textbooks and anxiety around application-based exam patterns being introduced for classes 9-12.Dropout rateThe committee noted that the number of schools at secondary and higher secondary levels was significantly lower than at primary and upper primary levels.Data from the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2024-25 cited in the report showed that of 10,92,671 government and government-aided schools, 9,11,032 were at the primary level, 4,12,805 at the upper primary level, 1,61,808 at the secondary level and 90,866 at the higher secondary level.Enrolment also declined as students moved to higher classes. Primary schools had 6,18,45,033 students, while classes 6 to 8 had 4,08,93,978. The number fell to 2,36,68,220 at the secondary level and 1,64,17,949 at the higher secondary level.The committee recommended converting more existing primary and secondary schools into higher secondary schools and asked the education ministry to encourage states and Union Territories to establish additional schools at the secondary and higher secondary levels.Textbook shortage, exam pattern and NEPThe panel also identified difficulties in implementing the curriculum for classes 9 to 12. While the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has aligned its curriculum with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2023, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is still introducing new textbooks for these classes.As a result, schools are teaching the revised curriculum while older textbooks remain in circulation. The committee said the situation, along with newer application-based Board examinations, was causing stress and confusion among students.“The non-availability of textbooks and newer, application-based Board examination patterns are creating significant academic stress and confusion for students especially for the students appearing for the Class 10 and 12 examinations,” the committee said.It recommended speeding up the development, printing and distribution of the remaining textbooks. It also asked NCERT and CBSE to coordinate on the new initiatives and recommended a nationwide teacher-training programme focused on application-based teaching.Accessibility and spendingThe parliamentary panel also flagged the lack of accessible infrastructure in schools for students with disabilities, noting that more than 50% schools lacked such facilities.According to UDISE+ 2024-25, of 14,71,437 schools nationwide, only 5,23,143 have CwSN toilets and 8,08,466 have ramps with handrails. The report also flagged unused budgetary allocations to develop such infrastructure. Of the Rs 482 lakh allocated for constructing 186 CwSN toilets, only Rs 2.60 lakh was utilised, with no progress on ground in 2024-25, the report said.The panel also noted that only Rs 80.50 lakh was used from a Rs 962 lakh allocation for special educators in elementary education. It recommended annual targets for fund utilisation and project implementation, along with fixed timelines for accessible infrastructure and an assessment of the requirement for special educators.The panel also noted that only Rs 80.50 lakh was utilised against a budgetary grant of Rs 962 lakh for special educators in the elementary section, with limited progress in recruiting and retaining educators for CwSN students.On education spending, the panel said that while NEP 2020 set a target of raising public expenditure on education to 6% of GDP, the combined spending by the Union government and states currently stood at 4.1%.“To bridge the GDP gap, the ministry should move away from marginal incremental budgeting and ensure a mandatory annual baseline increase of 10% in the education budget to gradually converge with the 6% GDP target,” it said.