Teachers to visit slums, bus stands and railway stations to bring back Out of School Children

The Department of Public Instruction (DPI), which has identified over 16,000 children who are out of the mainstream education system, has asked teachers to go to slums and bus stands twice a month and attempt to bring migrant children back into the mainstream. This year, the government had identified 16,000 Out of School Children (OOSC) across Karnataka.

This is first time that the department is carrying out this ambitious exercise as it wants to ensure children who have been displaced due to migration are brought back to the mainstream education system. The exercise will be carried out on August 13 and 14 in Bengaluru, which sees a huge influx of migrant workers and their families.

Of the total 16,853 children between the ages six and 14 that are out of school, 31.1% are children of migrant labourers. The largest number of OOSC have been identified in Bengaluru.

An official said that they have decided to conduct the survey between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. “Most of the members of migrant families will be at work during the day. So we have asked our teachers and officials to visit slums, bus stands, and railway stations at night. We have also told them to cover flyovers and bridges, as many workers spend the night under them,” the official said.

The department plans to carry out the exercise every month and will form teams of teachers, headmasters and Block Education Officers and other staff to undertake this activity. “Only male teachers will do the rounds as it takes place at night,” said an official.

A head of a government primary school in Bengaluru welcomed the move. “Our senior officials repeatedly ask us to show records of dropouts who have re-enrolled. We visit the adjoining neighbourhoods during the day but do not find their families. Doing the survey at night will help,” she said.