Trump tariffs behind rise in school dropouts in Surat?

Key Highlights

• Trump's punitive 50% tariff on Indian exports not only has dimmed the sparkle of the state's lifeline diamond industry, its impact also seems to have reached the classrooms as well, where empty benches now tell the story of lost jobs, falling wages, and workers being forced to pull their children out of school.
• The cascading effect has especially affected Surat, the 'Diamond City' of India, with lakhs of children dropping out of schools mid-session last year. advertisementA report tabled in the Parliament winter session on state-wise data on school dropouts laid bare a grim reality for Gujarat, an industrial hub and one of the most progressive states.
• In 2025-26, Gujarat reported the highest number of out-of-school children, with 2.4 lakh students dropping out.
• What makes the data even more alarming is the sharp spike compared to the previous year.
• In 2024, only 54,541 children dropped out.