Less than half the girls enrolled in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) complete secondary education, according to data from the Education Ministry. The data, shared with Parliament on Wednesday, reveals that despite improved overall enrolment, retention rates for Classes 9-12 remain below 50% in 2024-25.
Specifically, the retention rate for girls in Classes 9 to 12 stood at 49.5% in 2024-25. This contrasts with a 84.2% retention rate for middle school (Classes 6-8) students during the same period. Dropout rates at the secondary level reached 6.6% , compared to 2.9% at the middle school level.
Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme
The KGBV scheme launched two decades ago to provide residential education. It targets girls from marginalized communities, including Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), minorities, and those living below the poverty line. Initially, the scheme focused on Classes 6 to 8.
In 2018-19, the elementary education scheme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), merged with the secondary education scheme, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), forming the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. This merger included KGBVs under SSA and girls’ hostels under RMSA, with a plan to upgrade all KGBVs to Class 12.
KGBV School Types and Functionality
The planned upgrade to Class 12 has not been fully implemented across all schools. Currently, KGBVs are categorized into four types:
- Type 1: Classes 6-10 (School with hostel or only hostel)
- Type 2: Classes 6-10 (School with hostel or only hostel)
- Type 3: Classes 6-12 (School with hostel or only hostel)
- Type 4: Classes 9-12 (Hostel only)
As of December 5, 2025 , India has 5,639 KGBVs. Of these, 370 remain non-functional. There are 5,269 functional KGBVs across the country.
Retention and Dropout Rates
Retention rate measures the percentage of students remaining enrolled through an educational cycle. Data provided in response to a question by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh shows steady improvement in retention, but secondary-level rates remain low.
| Levels | 2022-23 (%) | 2023-24 (%) | 2024-25 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classes 6-8 | 76.4 | 78.9 | 84.2 |
| Classes 9-12 | 45.1 | 47.5 | 49.5 |
The all-India average retention rate in 2024-25 was 82.8% at the middle level and 47.2% at the secondary level. Dropout rates have also improved, with the overall rate falling from 8.3% in 2022-23 to 2.9% in 2024-25. Secondary-level dropout rates dropped from 12.6% to 6.6% over the same period.
National dropout rates, as per UDISE+, stand at 1.5% for primary, 5.2% for upper primary, and 14.1% for secondary levels.
Enrollment in KGBVs
A total of 7.58 lakh girls are enrolled in KGBVs nationwide. This marks an increase from 6,91,304 enrollments in 2023-24. Enrollment demographics include 2.64 lakh from OBC communities, 2.06 lakh from SC communities, 1.77 lakh from ST communities, and 1,10,807 from BPL communities.
State-Specific Data and Pupil-Teacher Ratios
Telangana leads in student enrollment with 1,77,009 girls, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 1,03,733 . Of 587 sanctioned KGBVs in Andhra Pradesh, 499 are functional. Uttar Pradesh has 783 KGBVs, with 58 non-functional. Telangana reports 15 non-functional KGBVs out of 721.
All Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are functional. Kerala and Sikkim each operate one KGBV, enrolling 80 and 156 students respectively.
Jharkhand maintains the highest pupil-teacher ratio among all states at 50:1 , a figure constant for five years. The state enrolls 71,050 students. In contrast, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh report a 16:1 pupil-teacher ratio. In several states, including West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, and Uttarakhand, KGBVs function solely as hostels.