In 2021-22, school dropout rate at secondary level was higher than national avg in 7 states
New Delhi(PTI): Gujarat, Bihar, Karnataka, Assam and Punjab are among seven states where the school dropout rate at the secondary level was higher than the national average of 12.6 per cent in 2021-22, according to official data.
This information was collated from the minutes of the Project Approval Board (PAB) meetings held under the Ministry of Education to discuss the implementation of the "Samagra Shiksha" programme for 2023-24.
The meetings with states and union territories took place between March and May this year.
The government views dropout as a barrier to achieving the new National Education Policy's aim of 100 per cent Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) at the school level by 2030, according to officials.
The details of the PAB meeting minutes show that the dropout rate at the secondary level in 2021 22 was 20.46 per cent in Bihar, 17.85 per cent in Gujarat, 20.3 per cent in Assam, 16.7 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, 17.2 per cent in Punjab, 21.7 per cent in Meghalaya and 14.6 per cent in Karnataka.
In West Bengal, though the dropout rate has improved substantially from 2020-21 to 2021-22, particularly at the elementary level, it needs to continue taking adequate measures to reduce the dropout rate and improve the retention rate at the secondary level, it was noted in one of the minutes.
There are a lot of out of school children in the Union Territory of Delhi. Details of out of school children mainstreamed should be uploaded on PRABANDH portal, it was stated in one of the documents. The minutes did not have the dropout rate figures for West Bengal and the national capital.
In Madhya Pradesh, the dropout rate at the secondary level has declined from 23.8 per cent in 2020-21 to 10.1 per cent in 2021-22, data showed. The state runs a special enrolment drive every year with focused household survey with the help of a mobile app, it was noted.
Data showed that in Maharashtra, the annual average dropout rate at the secondary level had declined from 11.2 per cent in 2020-2021 to 10.7 per cent in 2021-2022. However, the dropout rate in five districts of the state is 15 per cent and above.
In Uttar Pradesh, the annual average dropout rate is "very high" in districts of Basti (23.3 per cent), Budaun (19.1 per cent) , Etawah (16.9 per cent), Ghazipur (16.6 per cent) , Etah (16.2 per cent) , Mahoba (15.6 per cent), Hardoi (15.6 per cent) and Azamgarh (15 per cent), the collated data showed.
The dropout rate in Rajasthan, is consistently decreasing, but the dropout rate amongst scheduled tribes (nine per cent) and Muslim (18 per cent) children is still "very high" at the secondary level, the documents showed.
The survey of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) last year states that in India, 33 per cent of girls drop out of school due to domestic work. It was also found in many places that after leaving school, children started working as labourers with their families or cleaning people's houses.
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Road crash in UP leaves 10 dead
Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) (PTI): Ten people were killed when a van collided head-on with a truck on the Sisaiya-Lakhimpur national highway on Monday, police said.
The van was going to Sisaiya from Lakhimpur when the accident took place between Unchgaon and Bharehta villages.
Circle Officer of Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh, said all nine passengers travelling in the van and the driver were killed.
District Magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri Anjani Kumar Singh told reporters that the van collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction, leading to nine casualties on the spot, while one succumbed to injuries at the district hospital.
Circle Officer, Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh told PTI, "Efforts are on to establish the identity of other deceased persons."
The seven of the deceased have been identified as Jaideep Singh (25), Pawan (23), Sohan (21), Ram Goyal (42), Sahajram (35), Pappu (18), all residents of Bahraich district and Adnan Khan (15), a resident of Lakhimpur Kheri district, police said.
Condoling the loss of lives in the accident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a post on X, said, "The loss of life in the unfortunate road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply distressing and heart-wrenching. My condolences are with the bereaved families."
"I have directed the local administration to provide prompt and adequate assistance to the injured and the victims. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant the departed souls a place at His divine feet and to bestow a speedy recovery upon the injured," Adityanath said on X.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak too condoled the loss of lives in the accident.
"The loss of lives resulting from the road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply tragic and heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences go out to the bereaved families," Maurya said.
