The Ministry of Education has started a mission to bring out school dropout children to the mainstream education system, emphasizing on children aged 14 to 18 years.
A high-level meeting was held under the aegis of the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) chaired by Secretary Sanjay Kumar in this regard, when he said that the programme will be implemented in partnership with the National Institute of Open Schooling and the state open schools through the flexible system of open and distance education.
The Ministry’s data shows that more than 2 crore children aged 14-18 are out of school. Financial constraints, family responsibilities, work commitments are among the main reasons for dropping out, officials said.
He said while only 100 children come in Class 1, 62 come to Class 12.
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The dropouts who can not re-attend regular schools will be admitted to open schools and provided with skill based and vocational training related to local employment opportunities.
The initiative will be a force multiplier to retain the children and will aid the government’s goal of universal education by 2030.
