Maharshtra high in literacy, dropout rate

MUMBAI: A large number of students in Maharashtra—a state with a high literacy rate— drop out of schools and refuse to pursue higher education.
While the phenomenon is understandable in villages, where children are forced by circumstances to earn a livelihood, what has come to light in cities has taken educationists by surprise.
An NGO, which studied the trend, says that overall 38% of students in the state drop out of secondary education.While 70% of the dropouts are in villages, 30% reside in cities.
City students drop out because they get lured by easy-to-get jobs at malls and in beauty parlours.
“In cities, till the eighth standard, students regularly attend school and appear for examinations. But immediately after that the class strength drops. In many cases, parents are not even aware that their children are hunting for jobs,” said Arundhati Chavan, president, PTA United Forum.