NSS cadets to help find out-of-school kids

KOLHAPUR: A couple of days after state education minister Vinod Tawde issued strict orders to complete the survey of out-of-school children survey before March 1, the education department on Saturday decided to take help of National Service Scheme (NSS) cadets to look out for such kids in the district.
Tawde on Thursday directed the education department to continue with the out-of-school children survey till February-end and submit the final report by March 1.The department faced a lot of criticism about gross under-reporting of such children during the third survey carried out in January.
S R Chougule, primary education officer in the Kolhapur zilla parishad, told TOI that the 10-day survey will start from February 12 in the district. A meeting on the issue will be held with the respective authorities next week.
Chougule said during the third survey conducted between January 15 and January 31, only 42 out-of-schools children were reported in the district. "We have enrolled all these 42 children back to mainstream education. We are making plans regarding the next survey at present. Hopefully, the assistance from NSS cadets will prove fruitful," he said.
When asked about the overall report on the three surveys carried out so far, Chougule said till July the department had found some 501 out-of-school children of which 220 were added back to mainstream education, while the remaining 281 were from madrassas.
Taking about the upcoming survey, he said, "We will hold a meeting with the principals of colleges having NSS units in the district. As NSS cadets will conduct the survey, we need to have proper communication with them so that the problems that cropped up in other parts of the state are not repeated in the district. The survey will be 10 days long during which we would look for the children of brick kiln workers, labourers working on sugarcane farms & stone quarries and those of migrating families."
M K Gondhali, deputy director of education (Kolhapur division), said all the education officers of Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, and Kolhapur districts have been asked to prepare for the survey to identify maximum number of children, who have been left behind.
Gondhali said during the video-conferencing held earlier this week, Tawde said it is an initiative wherein people identifying out-of-school kids will be rewarded. However, the minister has not taken any official decision in this regard.
The Right To Education (RTE) Act, 2009, mandates that all children aged between 6 and 14 years should be enrolled in schools, show regular attendance and get formal education.Survey facts
* More importance will be given to the children of brick kiln workers, labourers working on sugarcane farms and stone quarries and those of migrating families
* The survey will be conducted from February 12 to 22 across the district
* All the education officers of Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, and Kolhapur districts have been asked to prepare for the survey
District figures
* Out-of-school kids identified in July 2015: 501
* Children identified in January 2016: 42
QUOTE
We will hold a meeting with the principals of colleges having NSS units in the district. As NSS cadets will conduct the survey, we need to have proper communication with them so that the problems that cropped up in other parts of the state are not repeated in the district
- S R Chougule, district primary edu officer