CJ REPORT: Till How Long, Drop-Out Students Back In School?

Retaining These Kids Poses Challenge To Educationists. The 800 ‘motivators’ which the Rajiv Vidya Mission (RVM) had appointed in the Hyderabad's Old City for inspiring parents of out-of-school children (OSC) to send them to classrooms may have succeeded in their mission with scores of such kids flocking to school, but retaining these students in school is proving to be a real challenge. 
    
It was in September that the RVM along with Hyderabad-based NGOs Mahita, MV Foundation, Pratham, Cova, Reddy Foundation and Nandi took up the drive to educate all children aged between three and 14 years. After a detailed survey, 7,293 OSC belonging to minority communities were identified, including madrassa-going students in Charminar, Bahadurpura, Bandlaguda, Asif Nagar and Golconda mandals. 
    
While RVM officials said that 3,430 students out of the 7,293 OSC were enrolled in 107 government schools in the five mandals, on a more serious note, they pointed out that there was a drop-out rate of around 25% which has undermined their efforts to impart education in the area. 
    
“The problem is seen more in the Old City as many go back to working in various small business establishments. This is why we took the programme further to February and requested NGOs to give remedial classes with one volunteer in each school,” said an RVM official requesting anonymity. 
    

However, NGO volunteers said the RVM had promised to use schoolteachers as ‘retainers’ of these students which not happen. “We conducted a survey of 17,000 houses in Bahadurpura and identified around 2,500 OSC out of which around 650 were enrolled in various schools. Now there is a drop-out rate of around 30% as many have gone back to working in small shops,” Mohammed Turab from Cova said. 
    
“The RVM should coordinate with the labour department to stop children from working as NGO volunteers have no powers in such matters and labour inspectors should be made responsible. Many NGOs pulled out as RVM didn’t pay volunteers on time,” he added. 
    
Other education activists pegged the reason for drop-outs to the limited role of schoolteachers and economic empowerment of these children. 
    
“The drop-out rate is between 10 and 15%. There should be parentteacher interaction. Also, the government had pointed out that they would have a bigger role for teachers which didn’t happen. Once these children are employed in small shops, they lose focus from education,” said Swaroop Kumar from Mahita. The NGO has workein areas such as Talabkatta and Asif Nagar.

                                 (This Citizen Journalist Report was filed by Mohammed Najamuddin in Hyderabad)