No. of out-of-school children up 3-fold to over 44,000 in State

Officials attribute this to inclusion of students who have not completed class 10

The Department of Primary and Secondary Education has identified over 44,000 out-of-school children (OOSC) in the State.

While the survey for the 2018-19 academic year is yet to be completed, data collected so far is already more than three times the number of school children identified last year. It will be released before the next academic year.

In the previous 2017-18 survey, the department identified 14,192 children who were out of school. M.T. Reju, State Project Director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, said they are still in the process of finalising the exact number of OOSC. The department officials estimate that the number may reach 60,000 this year.

However, Mr. Reju said the increase in the number of children who are not in schools can be attributed to the changes in the way the survey was carried out. “The survey was more robust this year as it involved more community participation at the gram panchayat level,” he said.

While the survey every year takes into account only students below the age of 14, the State government this year has decided to include students who have not completed class 10 as dropouts. This criteria, officials pointed out, is responsible for the spike in numbers. “A large number of students drop out after the completion of higher primary education and do not enrol in high schools,” an official pointed out.

Of the 44,000 students who are not in schools, around 1,000 have been identified as those who have never enrolled in schools, while the remaining are dropouts.

Majority in Bengaluru

Like every year, a majority of the dropouts have been identified from Bengaluru. “This is because many of their parents migrate from different parts of the State to Bengaluru in search of employment. So the children migrate with their families and drop out of schools,” said an official from the department.

According to Mr. Reju, the department has made a list of students enrolled in the 2017-18 academic year, but not in the current academic year. “We have tried to find out reasons why the names of these children are not on the list. Some students may have moved to different schools or to other States. But if we are unable to trace where they have gone, they are considered to be dropouts,” he added.

This data has been captured from the Student Achievement Tracking System, which is the department’s database. This year, it even captures details of students who are missing in aided and unaided schools. Hitherto, only data of missing children from government schools was considered.