Only 5.67% of schools in India currently offer uninterrupted schooling from Class 1 to Class 12, according to data shared by the Ministry of Education
in the Rajya Sabha. Of the 14,66,682 schools covered under UDISE+ 2025-26, only 83,185 provide education across the entire Class 1 to 12 spectrum. The figures were shared by Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary in response to a Rajya Sabha question on the availability of continuous schooling and its impact on student transitions, retention and dropout rates. The data highlights the limited availability of schools where students can continue their education from the primary stage through senior secondary without having to move to another institution. At the same time, the government has reported improvement in transition and retention indicators at different stages of school education. According to the Education Ministry, the transition rate from the preparatory stage to middle school rose from 92.2% in 2024-25 to 93.8% in 2025-26. The transition rate from middle to secondary education also increased from 86.6% to 88.3% during the same period. The secondary-level retention rate saw a more notable improvement, rising from 47.2% in 2024-25 to 51.9% in 2025-26. Meanwhile, the dropout rate at the secondary level fell from 8.2% to 7.0%. 1,617 Schools Upgraded To Senior Secondary Level Since 2018-19 The government has pointed to school upgradation as one of the measures being undertaken to strengthen access to education through the senior secondary stage. Under the Samagra Shiksha scheme, the Centre provides financial assistance to states and Union Territories to upgrade and strengthen schools up to the senior secondary level. The scheme follows an integrated approach to school education, covering students from pre-primary through Class 12. Between 2018-19 and 2026-27, as many as 1,617 schools were approved for upgradation from secondary to senior secondary level, according to the data submitted to Parliament. Rajasthan recorded the highest number of approved upgrades at 606, followed by Odisha with 331 and Punjab with 241. Uttar Pradesh had 98 schools approved for upgradation, while Assam had 47 and Karnataka 43. Other states and Union Territories that recorded school upgrades included Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. The Ministry said states and UTs prepare annual plans for school strengthening and upgradation based on their respective requirements and priorities. These proposals are subsequently assessed and approved under the programme's financial and operational norms. The government also stated that Samagra Shiksha is aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The scheme seeks to address access to quality education while promoting equitable and inclusive classrooms that account for students’ diverse backgrounds, multilingual needs and different academic abilities. While the latest data shows improvement in transition, retention and dropout indicators, the fact that fewer than 6% of schools provide continuous education from Class 1 to Class 12 points to the scale of the challenge in ensuring uninterrupted schooling across stages.
