SSA?s focus on drop-outs

More than 60 children out of a hundred who enter Class I do not reach Class X. But the government is now trying to reduce the drop-out rates, it was said in the Parliament on Monday.

More than 60 children out of a hundred who enter Class I do not reach Class X. But the government is now trying to reduce the drop-out rates, it was said in the Parliament on Monday.

A multi-pronged approach has been adopted under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Minister of State for Human Resource Development MAA Fatmi said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. He was answering Bharatiya Janata Party’s Surendra Lath and Bharatiya Janata Dal’s Pramila Bohidar — both from Orissa — on government efforts to solve the problem.

Fatmi said the government has undertaken a range of steps to make classrooms attractive, supply needy kids books and mid-day meals and mobilise community to improve demand for schooling.

They include strengthening primary and upper primary schools, improving infrastructure, recruiting additional teachers, giving schools grants, training teachers, introducing teaching practices that make classrooms more joyful and attractive.

Special drives will also be organised to enrol vulnerable groups of children, including girls, and strengthen the accountability of the schools system towards parents and the community.

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