Karnataka has seventh-highest number of school dropouts; experts react

Karnataka’s dropout rate has worried experts who want the authorities to take proactive steps and organise larger awareness campaigns to bring children back to school

Image for representative purpose only | (Picture: Express)

In the last six years, 71,945 students in Karnataka have dropped out of school, according to data from the Primary School and Literacy Department. Despite various initiatives by the State and Union governments and the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) policy, the state is in the seventh position for the highest number of dropouts in schools in the country, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.

Karnataka’s dropout rate has worried experts who want the authorities to take proactive steps and organise larger awareness campaigns to bring children back to school, a report by The New Indian Express said. They also want the authorities to introduce an early warning system to predict possible dropouts.

As per the data provided by Samagra Shikshana Karnataka (SSK) under the Department of Education, during 2022-2023, 18,461 children dropped out. The highest number of 13,267 for the academic year was recorded for children in the age group of six to 14, who are mandated under the RTE Act. This includes children who had either dropped out or never enrolled in school. The rest of the 5,194 students were from Classes IX, X and pre-university (Class XI, XII) grades.

Experts speak

According to Srikanth, State Project Officer, SSK, the study for 2022-2023 was conducted in January through the School Operation Survey with the help of teachers and the numbers available with the administration.

“Along with teachers, our officers also visit the brick factories, hotels, slums and other areas where children usually work. Post this, all of them are brought back to school," he told TNIE.

Replying to a question during the winter session in Belagavi on the initiatives taken by the government, Madhu Bangarappa, Minister for Primary School Education and Literacy, said that once students are found to be out of school, notices are issued to their parents and a deadline of one month is given to them to appear before the District Child Welfare Committee.

He said, “On the 1st and 15th of every month, information should be given to the Block Education Officer about the steps taken to mainstream the out of school children.”

The minister also spoke about special training programmes held for children and migrant families and for teachers. A sum of Rs 208.08 lakh has been released for such initiatives during 2021-2022, he added.

Experts are not convinced by the government’s claims and have questioned the transparency of the number recorded. They flagged that the numbers could be much higher than reported, TNIE added.

Sheshagiri KM Rao, Education Specialist, UNICEF, said teachers should also be trained to integrate these students into the mainstream. The last mile that involves making sure children don’t leave schools again, ensuring they continue to learn and pick up skills remains a challenge. Rao said migrants are not being mapped and the administration should adopt robust systems.

Nagasimha Rao, Director, Child Rights Trust (CRT), said students should be provided counselling in the post-COVID era that has made them restless and disinterested in education.

“Surveys should be conducted at the end of the year and not beginning to analyse the exact number of dropouts. We need to repeat the benefits of education to parents constantly as public memory is short. Other issues such as child-friendly schools, infrastructure for disabled, rehabilitation measures and coordination among various departments are pressing issues in the system,” he told TNIE

KE Radhakrishna, educationist, said the “causal approach” towards education is detrimental and not just stopping dropouts, but also hiring and training teachers should be prioritised.

Years and number of dropouts