As many as 650 children, aged between 11 and 17 years, who had dropped out of schools in Kallakurichi district during the pandemic have been readmitted, thanks to the intervention by the Kallakurichi district administration.
The highest number of out-of-school children - 764 - was identified in Ulundurpet block during a survey conducted by the district administration in March this year.
The administration had estimated that 2,793 students from classes VI to XII had dropped out of school during the pandemic. The survey identified migration and dependence on daily wages to supplement family income as the main reasons for the children dropping out of school.
The break-up of dropouts is as follows: 764 in Ulundurpet, 55 in Chinna Salem, 169 in Kallakurichi, 558 in Rishivandhiyam, 252 in Sankarapuram, 466 in Tirukovilur, 202 in Thirunavalur and 327 in Thiyagadurgam.
According to District Collector P.N. Sridhar, “The attendance of students since offline classes had started was poor in many schools. The administration mapped the enrolment of students from middle schools to higher secondary schools to track down out-of-school children.”
“A nodal officer was appointed for each block and teams comprising officials from various line departments and panchayat presidents conducted a door-to-door survey to identify children who were out of school and children of migrant workers who were affected by COVID-19 disruptions,” he said.
‘’The parents and children were counseled and they were readmitted to schools. Out of 2,793 out of schoolchildren identified during the survey, the administration has readmitted about 650 so far. In cases of children belonging to socially and economically disadvantaged groups and those who had dropped out of school due to migration, the administration adopted various measures including providing necessary linkages with departments for schemes and facilities to help the children continue their education,” he said.
An action plan has been prepared to prevent drop-outs and to increase the enrolment ratio he said, adding the targeted interventions would continue till all the identified out-of-school children were brought back to schooling.
Officials also found that the interventions most impacted members of socio-economically deprived communities in the region and student attendance in schools in the area had improved over the past one month. The percentage of students attending offline classes had increased from 69% in March to 81% in April.
“We will continue to monitor both the enrolment and attendance rates. If the child’s attendance is not continuous, the teams will visit the houses and find out the reasons for long absence”, an official said.
