Sonepur: The Odisha government has launched special initiatives like the ‘Mo School, Smart School’ and several other initiatives to provide quality education to students of all classes till the Higher Secondary stage.
It introduced online classes for students when schools closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the picture is not rosy at the ground level in a small district like Subarnapur.
Off late, the district is witnessing a sharp rise in dropouts despite every possible method to increase the enrollment in schools. This has sparked concern in various quarters as over 2,586 students have dropped out from schools in 2021-22.
These startling facts came to the fore during a door-to-door survey conducted by the teachers in various rural and urban households in the district.
This development has come at a time when the education system has collapsed in the district due to closure of many institutions because of Covid-19. Closure of hundreds of schools by the Odisha government on the pretext of few enrollments has also aggravated the problem.
A sharp increase in school dropouts has highlighted the sorry picture of the educational system in the district. Reports said that the School and Mass Education department conducted a door-to-door survey (household survey-2021) involving teachers.
The teachers participating in the drive conducted a survey of the number of children present in each house and their educational status. The survey pointed out that 2,586 students in various age-groups have dropped out (out of schools) from schools in 2021.
The district has 737 primary schools. According to the survey, 66 students in the 6-14 years age group have stopped going to schools while, 2,520 in the 15-18 years group have dropped out.
These numbers indicate that more students have dropped out when in the Plus-II stage than in primary and upper-primary schools. The numbers also indicate many students are not willing to continue with their studies after Class-X.
Educationists believe that many students are dropping out from schools to earn a livelihood due to financial hardships faced by their families. This has happened despite the Odisha government renovating schools, providing mid-day meals and several other facilities free of cost to the students.
An official of the School and Mass Education department said that schools which were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic are reopening in phases. An assessment examination has been conducted and efforts are being made to bring back the students who have dropped out from schools.
When contacted, Lakshman Kumar Bhoi, district education officer said an annual plan has been prepared for enrollment of the students in special training centres and State Open Schools.
Moreover, teachers have been asked to conduct special teaching programmes due to closure of the schools during Covid-19 pandemic while six awareness vehicles titled ‘Asa Ame School Jiba’ are moving round the district to motivate the students so that they return to the schools.
PNN