The out-of-school children (OoSC) survey which identifies children between the ages of six to 18, who have not enrolled or have dropped out of school, is yet to be carried out in the state of Tamil Nadu. According to education department officials, the survey, usually conducted in April and May, has been delayed due to the Lok Sabha elections-induced Model Code of Conduct and the department officials' involvement in the New India Literacy Programme.

Delays in conducting the survey, in turn, delayed admissions for vulnerable children making it more difficult to bring them into mainstream education.

Survey to begin tentatively from May end
Education department officials said that even though the enrollment drive began in March, the OoSC survey is expected to start only in the last week of May or the first week of June. The door-to-door survey is conducted by Block Resource Teacher Educators (BRTEs), headmasters, teachers, anganwadi workers, activists, special educators, physiotherapists, school management committee (SMC) members along with the labour department and others. The survey will also focus on children with disabilities and children of migrant labourers.

The year 2023 data noted 1.3 lakh dropouts 
According to the department’s data, in February 2023, there were 1.3 lakh dropouts in Tamil Nadu. As per an order issued by the state government in 2017, students who have not attended school for 30 continuous working days will be considered dropouts and those who are irregular will be considered potential dropouts.

“However, we have seen several cases where schools would continue to mark attendance for children even if they are not attending classes. These children are also tracked in the survey. There is no other system in place to track children who shift from one district to another,” said a Block Resource Teacher Educator (BRTE) from Villupuram.

In Villupuram, there are a total of 1,837 vulnerable children, of which, 1,551 are in Class X and 94 are yet to be admitted to a school. The OoSC survey is vital in identifying more children before the beginning of the academic year, he added.