E-Paper
School dropouts in Uttarakhand to be tracked, linked to Aadhaar
The Uttarakhand school education department has decided to tie up with NGOs to track students who dropped out, and link them to Aadhaar numbers, officials said
The Uttarakhand school education department has decided to tie up with NGOs to track students who dropped out, and link them to Aadhaar numbers, officials said.
The decision to conduct a survey of the dropouts followed differences in the figures of the department and the national census.
Going by the 2011 census, officials claim at least 2 lakh dropouts. But the surveys done by teachers in their areas have shown a decline in the number of students who dropped out of schools – 3208 in 2015-16, and 2410 in 2016-17.
“The department’s figures were not in coherence with the census figures and therefore, a few NGOs working in this area would do the survey for us,” Alok Shekhar Tiwari, director general of school education, told Hindustan Times.
The plan is to create a database of the out-of-school children and link them with Aadhaar; they will then be enrolled in schools. Aadhaar linkage will help track children who migrate with their families.
“When a student whose Aadhaar details are registered in a school here goes back to his town and does not take admission anywhere, only then can he be termed as out of class. This system will help us in providing a national figure of dropouts,” Tiwari said.
An Aadhaar number, issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), is a proof of a person’s identity and address that can be verified online. The three biometrics collected -- fingerprints, an iris scan and a face photograph – establish one’s identity.
After the Centre made it mandatory for schools to register Aadhaar numbers of students, teachers and staff, the direction was followed in private schools. The Union HRD ministry had issued orders to all states in February to ensure Aadhaar identification of students for availing of the midday meal scheme in schools.
On the discrepancies in dropout figures, sources in the department claim that government teachers did not show actual numbers in the past as either they failed to cover the areas or they did not register students who migrated.
“No case of irregularity in this survey was ever reported. However, we cannot deny the dubious figures,” a top education officer said, requesting anonymity.
IN A NUTSHELL
-NGOs to survey dropouts
-Out-of-class kids to be linked with Aadhar
-Database to be maintained for tracking dropouts
- School department’s figures on dropouts not in sync with that of the census
Statistics at a glance (School education dept estimates)
2015-16
Population of children (between age 6-14): 17,08696
Registered with schools: 17,05488
Out of class: 3208
2016-17
Population of children (between age 6-14): 16,25394
Registered with schools: 16,22984
Out of class: 2410
