Karnataka will launch a statewide campaign from November 14 to 30 to identify children who have dropped out of school and bring them back into the education system. The drive will cover children aged 6 to 18 enrolled in Classes 1 to II PU, with schools directed to trace students who have discontinued their studies during the academic year.
Under the campaign, children who remain absent for more than seven consecutive days without permission or a valid reason will be treated as out-of-school children. The initiative, led by Samagra Shikshana Karnataka (SSK), will focus particularly on children from migrant families and disadvantaged communities.
“Midway through the academic year, many children are likely to migrate to or from other districts and states, and due to various reasons, some children leave school midway. For this reason, conducting the second special campaign during November is necessary,” an SSK circular stated.
Schools have been instructed to organise meetings with parents and School Development and Monitoring Committees (SDMCs) on November 14 to explain the campaign and begin the identification exercise. Teachers and officials will conduct door-to-door visits, counsel parents and work with gram panchayats, local organisations and government departments to trace children who have left school.
The campaign will also cover workplaces where children may be engaged in labour. Teachers and officials have been asked to visit agricultural fields, shops, hotels, brick kilns, lime kilns and construction sites to identify children working there and speak to their parents and employers about returning them to education. Daily-wage families have been identified as a particular focus.
The department has issued instructions to track children who migrate between districts, blocks and school clusters. Attendance officers must share their details with officials in the destination areas to ensure that their schooling continues. In cases of interstate migration, the child's details, along with the Permanent Education Number (PEN), must be submitted to the state office.
For children aged 15 to 18, the department has directed schools to facilitate registration for examinations through the Karnataka Open Schooling system. Headmasters can spend up to Rs 1,500 from accumulated school funds or grants on publicity and documentation. Schools must submit photographs of campaign activities and enrolment figures to the department.
The latest state data indicate the scale of the challenge. Karnataka's 2025-26 Economic Survey records that Samagra Shikshana Karnataka identified 6,123 out-of-school children during the year. Of these, 85 were brought back into the education system through special training and 3,602 through school-based training. The process of mainstreaming the remaining children was still under way when the survey was prepared.
Separately, data from the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) for 2025-26 placed Karnataka's secondary-level dropout rate at 14.3%, the second highest among states and Union Territories after Ladakh. The rate among boys was 18.1%, the highest recorded in the country. The figures cover the secondary stage and should be distinguished from the wider group of 6-to-18-year-olds targeted by the state's latest campaign.
Karnataka has an existing mechanism under which a child absent from school for more than seven consecutive days without a valid reason is identified as being out of school. Education coordinators serving as attendance authorities are expected to contact families and persuade parents to send children back. The state also provides free uniforms, textbooks and meals, along with other support schemes, to encourage regular attendance.
The November campaign is the second special exercise planned during the academic year to trace children who have left school, including those whose families have moved in search of work. The department's instructions place responsibility on schools and local authorities to identify these children and facilitate their return to education.