6,803 new out-of-school children identified

With this, the official number is 14,192

The Department of Primary and Secondary Education h as identified 6,803 children who are not part of the school system. This is over and above the 7,389 children who were identified in this category before the start of the 2017-18 academic year. Together, the number of children who are out of school as per the records of the Education Department is 14,192.

When classified into categories, the highest, at 37% of those not in schools belong to Scheduled Castes, while the second-highest belong to the other backward classes with 1,512 students from this category. Kalaburagi topped the list with 984 children out of school, followed by Bengaluru with 905. The district with the best record is Kodagu which had only 20 children out of school, while Tumakuru is at 32.

The department’s survey before 2017-18 had identified 8,318 children out of the school system, of which 7,389 were given training so they could return to school. “It will take us a year or so before they can be brought back into the classroom,” an official in charge of the programme said.

A senior department official said

the department has 14 programmes that help bring children to the mainstream. “We will decide how to do this with each child on a case-by-case basis. While some students will need seasonal classes when their parents migrate, others will require bridge courses to ensure that their learning achievement levels are age appropriate,” the official said, adding that the department had the programmes included residential and non-residential ones.

Kripa Alva, chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, however, said the figures were not an accurate estimation. “The survey underestimates the numbers, which are far far higher,” she said.