A massive State-wide exercise to identify school dropouts between the age group of six and 14 years has begun on Monday in all the 10 panchayat unions in Krishnagiri district.
According to sources in the Education Department, 168 block resource trainers are on the field to identify the school dropouts as well as mentally-retarded children who are out of school.
The disabled children will be enrolled in the special residential bridge course centres at Pennangur near Denkanikottai and Subheduarmedu near Krishnagiri under the Inclusive Education for Differently-abled (IED), one of the components in the centrally-sponsored Sarva Siksha Abhiyan Scheme.
As many as 165 dropouts and 30 differently-abled dropout children were identified on Monday in all the ten blocks in the district.
Every year, the targets for finding out the school dropouts was fixed by the State Project Director of the SSA.
A team of block resource trainers led by a top level official made surprise visits to the households and shops in Madhagondapalli in Thalli Panchayat Union and found many children working in workshops.
As many as 4,140 dropout children and disabled children were identified during the survey conducted by the SSA officials during the last academic year. Of them 1,850 were admitted in 36 residential bridge course centres, 835 in 56 non-residential bridge course centres, 30 children in special residential bridge course centres, 360 girl children in four Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas and 848 children in 25 Special Schools run by the National Child Labour Project.
As many as 1446 children were mainstreamed as on March 31 this year, and the children who had finished eighth standard or finished two years of education in bridge course centres are admitted in regular schools, the source added.
The financial assistance allocated for Inclusive Education for the Differently-abled component by the SSA was Rs. 1.24 crore and Rs. 1.98 crore for school dropouts in the district.
The target fixed to identify the school dropouts for the current academic year (2011-12) was 4,725 and that of Inclusive Education for the Differently children was 4,101. The survey concludes in the district on April 29, the sources said.
