The Education Department of Andhra Pradesh will allow the students who failed the tenth-class examinations to attend regular classes in all schools in the State.
The decision has been taken as part of the measures to check child marriages, Andhra Pradesh State Council of Educational Research and Training (APSCERT) Director B. Pratap Reddy said. “Instructions have been issued to the headmasters of all schools to allow the tenth-class failed students to attend classes along with their regular counterparts,” he said.
Mr. Pratap Reddy, who took part in a State-level consultation on child marriages recently, said that teachers would play a key role in preventing marriage of minors.
“The teachers should monitor the attendance of students regularly. If a student is irregular in attending classes, teachers should enquire about the reasons for it,” he said.
In case the Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs) and other stakeholders find that the marriage of a minor has been fixed, they must discuss the issue with their parents and explain the provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and the legal consequences, he said.
“Students who failed the examinations and are attending classes are eligible for all welfare schemes meant for the students such as Jagananna Amma Vodi, Midday meals and others,” said Mr. Pratap Reddy.
