As many as 200 students of Chennai Corporation schools have dropped out during the current academic year. Their families have also reportedly shifted from the addresses furnished in the school records, making it difficult to trace the students and bring them back to school, officials said.
The students who dropped out are from high schools and higher secondary schools at 70 locations in the city, according to officials.
Corporation school teachers are worried as these 200 students are likely to end up as manual labourers, having lost the opportunity to complete school education.
No luck so far
In previous years, the teachers were able to trace most of the dropouts, zero in on the reasons and bring them back on the rolls. This year, they have so far been unable to trace the whereabouts of the students and their family members. “Most of the students may permanently lose the opportunity to get school education if we do not trace them before the end of this month,” said a teacher.
According to data compiled, these students dropped out of the schools between June and December 2019.
This month, teams of teachers reportedly visited the homes of the students who dropped out, but they did not find the families of the students at the address provided to school authorities.
The new addresses of the families is also not known as of now. The teachers have informed higher officials that it is difficult to find the dropouts.
Multiple reasons
Corporation teachers said they were studying the reasons for the dropouts. “Many students whose families have been resettled could have been affected. Rising crime rates in resettled areas is a challenge to the education of teenagers. A crime by an individual can affect the entire family. We are studying other reasons also. We have to find out whether the economic condition has affected the students,” said a teacher.
Among the Corporation schools, over 40% offer quality education free of cost, registering better results compared to other private schools in the neighbourhood.
A few smart classrooms have also been developed in the Corporation schools, making them more attractive. But 60% of the Corporation schools have continued to register a dip in student enrolment in the past few years.
Relocation effect?
Corporation officials said most of the schools have been located near slums along Cooum and Adyar river where resettlement has reduced the student strength.
Schools in the vicinity of more than 50 slums along the Cooum river have reported a dip in student numbers, after the relocation process started.
Resettlement of families along Buckingham Canal is expected to reduce the number of students from 85,000 to less than 50,000 in the Corporation schools, officials said.
