http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Dropouts-dip-to-1-but-ST-students-lag-behind-SSA-study/articleshow/7032055.cms
Dropouts dip to 1% but ST students lag behind: SSA study
Karthika Gopalakrishnan, TNN, Dec 3, 2010, 01.42am IST
CHENNAI: School education in the state continues to make significant
gains, according to statistics from the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA),
with the dropout rate falling to 1% in primary schools. The latest SSA
cohort study, which tracks the performance of children enrolled in
class I in 2005-06 over five years, shows that 97.36% of these
students complete their schooling. However, the statistics also
demonstrate that greater attention needs to be paid to the learning
levels of children from the Scheduled Tribe communities.
While the repetition rate (students who are held back in their class
at least once) is 6.15% among boys and 7.04 % among girls from the ST
group, this dips for SC students from 2.73% for boys and 1.76% for
girls. The overall repetition rate for children from all communities
in primary school is 1.88% and 1.41% for boys and girls respectively.
The situation is similar in upper primary sections for students who
enrolled in class VI in 2007-08 with ST boys displaying a repetition
rate of 8.09%, marginally lower than that of girls at 8.46%. The total
completion rate for students in the upper primary sections is also
lower at 93.35%.
Students from the ST community in Theni district registered the
highest repetition rate in primary classes with 18.07% in contrast to
their peers from Chennai at 0.32%. In the upper primary sections,
however, three districts put up a similar showing with Theni
registering a repetition rate of 15.24%, Kanchipuram at 15.38% and
Erode at 15.5%. Tiruchi district showed the least repetition among
upper primary sections at 0.12%.
Officials attribute this to the "geographical regions" in which
students from ST communities live and study. "It is possible that
because they stay in remote areas like hilly regions that they are not
able to finish their schooling within the allotted time frame of five
years and three years for primary and upper primary respectively. This
is probably because there are a few issues in the learning process at
the schools run by the department of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare,"
a senior official from the department said.
Activists working for the development of ST communities affirmed that
inadequate infrastructure was a hurdle in the pursuit of education.
"Of the 72 villages in Kodaikanal, seven Adivasi villages have
elementary schools. Though they are supposed to be residential
schools, they do not have buildings. These schools function out of the
facilities built for members of self-help groups. Teachers come from
as far as 45km away in Dindigul so they reach school only at 11am and
leave by 2.30pm. So, the actual amount of time that children spend in
schools is very little," said N P Nagapandian and M Leelavathy from
the Palani Hills Tribal Welfare Association.
Officials from the SSA said efforts were on to rectify this situation
with the department planning to conduct community mobilisation
awareness' programmes from December to February to sensitise
stakeholders like parents, teachers and school heads to the provisions
of the Right to Education Act and the need to provide children with an
optimal school atmosphere. "We hope that by undertaking a drive at
this time of the year, we will be able to increase enrolment and
provide better education by June next year," an official added.
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