Dropout rate nearly doubles in J&K secondary schools in 2021-2022
No major improvement in student dropout rate at Pry level
Syed Rizwan Geelani
Srinagar: The Ministry of Education has revealed that the dropout rate of students in J&K schools has nearly doubled at secondary level in 2021-22.
While the dropout rate of students in J&K has seen a sharp increase, there has been no major improvement in the dropout rate of students at the primary level as well.
As per the official document, the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) Ministry of Education (MoE) has revealed that the drop out rate of students at secondary level in J&K schools jumped from 3.7 percent in 2020-21 to 6.0 in 2021-22 academic session.
The move has thrown up a major challenge for the government to control the dropout rate of students at the secondary level.
Giving details about the previous years, the official figures have revealed that the dropout rate of the students increased from 3.4 percent in 2017-18 to 17.8 percent in 2018-19.
As per the figures, the dropout rate has further increased to 18.5 percent in the 2019-20 academic session.
Even if there has been a significant improvement in the 2020-21 academic session as the dropout rate witnessed a downfall from 18.5 percent in 2019-20 to 3.7 percent in 2020-21, the rate has further jumped to 6.0 in 2021-22 academic session.
The dropout rate has increased despite the hectic efforts of the J&K School Education Department to control the rate of dropouts.
Notably, last year the J&K Chief Secretary had asked the SED to examine the reasons for drop in the number of students appearing in J&K Board examination and take suitable measures to revert the declining trend.
The observations were made after the government observed that the number of students appearing in class 10th and 12th examinations witnessed a dwindling trend, throwing a major challenge for the government to control the trend.
Meanwhile, there has been no major improvement in the dropout rate of the students at primary level as well.
As per the official figures, the dropout rate of students has reduced from 4.4 percent in 2020-21 to 4.0 in 2021-22. The dropout rate, as per the figures was 2.9 percent in 2017-18 academic session which later increased to 6.7 percent in 2018-19 academic year. The dropout rate of students in 2019-20 academic session was 5.9 percent.
In wake of the increase in the dropout rate of students at secondary level, the DSEL in MoE has stated that the a Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) system has been developed to record the data on indicators of school education provided by all the States and Union Territories.
The DSEL has stated that the ministry has launched an integrated scheme from 2018-19 which has been aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment.
“The scheme will take care of the diverse background, multilingual needs, and different academic abilities of the students and make them active participants in the learning process,” the document reads.
The official document reads that the DSEL provides financial assistance to States and UTs to undertake various activities to reduce the number of Out of School Children (OoSC).
“The initiatives include opening and strengthening of new schools up to senior secondary level, construction of school buildings and additional classrooms,” the document reads.
“The department undertakes enrolment and retention drives as well to bring OoSC children to the formal schooling system,” the document reads.
The DSEL has further stated that the meritorious students of economically weaker sections are given financial assistance under National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme scholarship to arrest their drop out at class VIII and “encourage them to continue the study at secondary stage.” GK
