School dropouts: Out of 20 lakh in Std I, only 15 lakh remain in Std X

NAGPUR: Twenty children went in but only 15 came out, how many are left? While this may look like question from Std V mathematic textbook, it’s actually part of a problem that the state education department is dealing with. The department is worried that of the 20 lakh students that take admission in Std I only 15 lakh-odd appear for the Std X SSC board exam.“Only 15.12 lakh students appeared for SSC in 2013-14 meaning that 4.88 lakh dropped out. Many say poverty is a big reason for dropout and this argument needs to be analysed more,” a recent Government Resolution noted.
The dropout issue is being discussed by the department as it charts out a road map for its ‘Progressive Education Maharashtra’ (PEM) campaign. PEM came into existence last year after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis asked the education department to deliver on specific key result areas (KRA), so that a comprehensive evaluation can be done.
The education department agrees that students from poor family drop out due to a variety of reasons. “Getting a secondary education becomes very difficult for students coming from poor economic conditions. Till Std VIII they get facilities like free books, uniform, midday meals etc, then in Std IX everything stops. In rural areas many students have to travel far for secondary education. Owing to these reasons many students drop out and even those who do enrol find it difficult to attend regularly,” the GR mentioned.
Teachers in rural areas agree that they have a tough time keeping kids inside classrooms. Khemraj Kondhe, who teaches at Priyadarshini High School in Dongargaon village, said that it’s common practice for families to involve children in their work.
“The cowherd will make the young boys and girls tend to the flock, those working in mines too have children doing less hazardous work sometimes or simply keep them in the vicinity. Transportation of such students to schools has to be arranged because schools are far from their residential areas. Just last week we had some out-of-school children enrolled in school, but then again, it was an initiative from us as parents do not have that level of awareness,” said Kondhe.
Another aspect is of students not making it till Std X is failure in earlier classes.
Principal of Saraswati Vidyalaya S Prabhuraman said that the introduction of no-detention guidelines under Right To Education (RTE) Act has played a major role. “Till Std VIII they whizz by and the roadblock hits in Std IX. In one class you want them to study material for last eight years? How will they catch up with subjects like mathematics which actually have no connection between what is taught in Std VIII and Std IX,” he said.
The education department has directed schools to plan for the years ahead and ensure that the school dropout rate goes down to zero. Already the state has done multiple surveys on out-of-school kids and put the onus on schools to persuade families of such kids. Under RTE, depriving a child (between 6-13 years of age) of elementary education is illegal.
State’s plan to improve edu performance
Possible reasons for drop out
Poverty forces most adolscent students to take up jobs and contribute to family
Social discrimination in some families, mostly in rural area, forces female child to discontinue after getting elementary education
Distance of high schools from some villages also discourages female students to avoid commute due to safety reasons
Failure in Std IX discourages children from taking up the next challenge
Multi-pronged approach
Mother School concept
School where a child takes primary education will be called Mother School
It will be that school’s responsibility to send the child to secondary level
Mother School concept will ensure accountability and continuity for student’s progress through the schooling system
Baseline tests
Will be held for Std IX and X for language and math subjects
Already being held for lower classes, started in the 2015-16 academic session
Baseline tests will be based on syllabus of the student’s previous academic class
Tests will guage level of students through a common question paper, much like a board exam
Baseline tests will not be part of the regular evaluation process
Supplementary exam for Std IX
Just like in SSC and HSC, Std IX students will be given extra chances to clear the papers if they fail
Schools are already implementing this measure under the name ‘remedial test’, held in June
A new format of the test will follow in light of the govt’s new directives
Std IX students will be evaluated on exactly the same style as Std X (with internal marking, group system of passing and even format of papers)
Edu dept says not every school in state is following this
This gives students a greater chance of clearing the exam
Counseling
Removing fear of examination through counseling
Regular seminars, workshops, meetings between schools and parents to discuss issues
Changing benchmark for school’s evaluation
Evaluation of school’s performance was limited to Std X performance only
Now even Std IX will be brought under purview
Students who leave school in Std IX and appear as private candidates in Std X will be mapped to see how many clear the exam
OUR TAKE
Failure is one of the biggest reason for dropouts. I believe Math and English must be made optional at Std IX and X level because most of the stuff taught at that level is hardly used later in life. This will ensure that students progress through the system and carry the knowledge with them. If possible, even question papers can be made a bit easy so that weak students can make it to the borderline.
Madhusudhan Mude, Principal, Major Hemant Jakate High School
Financial condition plays a big role in the student dropout ratio. Government must ensure that financial help in the form of books, uniforms, bags, etc is provided to all students till Std XII. Even if the student is studying in private unaided schools, the government should pitch in to ensure that money is not the reason for them to quit their studies. Decisions have been taken on paper in this regard, but were never implemented.
Ravindra Fadnavis, joint secretary, Rajya Shikshan Sanchalak Mandal
We have to ensure that teachers are given the target of getting these out-of-school students back into the classrooms. There are many areas where such kids can be found. If teachers go and search for just an hour every day, there will come a time when everyone in that vicinity will be attending school regularly.
Nazra Patel, Principal, Anjuman High School (Mahal)
We must bring back a version of the exam system that was followed some decades ago. There used to be state-level exam in Std V and then again in Std VIII which meant that students were being braced for the challenges ahead and not simply pushed through.
Ashok Pardhi, Exec member, Headmasters Association (Maharashtra)
The government must identify students who are likely to drop out because of financial conditions and then try to work on them through counselling. These students must be made aware about the dangers of not completing their education. They need to know what kind of life may await them in future if they choose to ignore or stop education.
Sanjay Charalwar, principal of Mohota Science College