Sub-problem

Official out-of-school tracking is defined for ages 6 to 14, so adolescent dropout falls outside the count

• National

The official definition of an out-of-school child covers ages 6 to 14 — never enrolled, or absent for 45 days without notice — which is the age range the Right to Education Act covers. Children who leave school at 15, 16 or 17 are therefore not counted by the tracking system that exists, even though this is where retention actually collapses. The measurement stops precisely where the problem starts. Evidence confidence: High — this follows from the stated definition itself.