Nearly 25,000 students dropped out from schools in Coimbatore district

COIMBATORE: As many as 24,977 school students in Coimbatore have dropped out of schools because of the pandemic, reveals data from the Education Management Information System (EMIS) portal. Thanks to the out-of-school survey conducted by the Samagra Shiksha, most of them have been given a chance to continue education.

Teachers update the status of students on the EMIS portal and the progress is checked regularly. Once the student drops out or does not move on to the next class, their names get listed on the ‘common pool’ in the portal.

Sources said 1,752 surveyors from Samagra Shiksha have been tracking the 24,977 students who have not been actively engaging in educational activities in the district.

Of this, the surveyors have tracked 21,389 students in an attempt to ensure their continued education.An official from district Samagra Shiksha told TNIE, “If students do not involve in education activities for a month, we consider them to be out-of-school children. When we checked, nearly 24,977 students did not move to the next class.”

The official added that the surveyors have been engaged in field visits with the help of government and private school teachers since August 10. The data collected showed that many students had to go back to their natives after the pandemic since the parents had initially come to Coimbatore only for work.

“Many students have gone to work along with their parents. The parents got the Transfer Certificates (TC) but have not admitted their children in schools yet,” worried the official. Meanwhile, in private schools, many students were allegedly removed from private schools citing issues related to fees, the official further explained. He added that there were instances of students staying away from education for as long as two months, also.

The official said that they have passed on to other district administrations the details of the students that migrated from Coimbatore district, in an attempt to enrol them in schools again. “We have found 21,000 students’ present education status and of that 60% of students have returned to schools, polytechnic colleges, ITI, thanks to the survey. Steps have been taken to bring remaining students into education activities soon.”

“We would track the remaining 3,000 students within ten days and they would be brought back to schools,” he hoped.

When a BRTE in Pollachi shared his survey experience, he said, “We followed up with a boy from Class VI who was removed from a private school after his father took ill and could not pay the fees. The father bought two goats to sustain their income and the boy has been rearing them for two months now. After locating him in the Pollachi North block through the survey, the student has been admitted to T Kalipalayam High School.”

A parent, G Sivasamy from Vandikaranur Privu said he could not pay the fees for her daughter who was studying in a private school and that the education officials helped her get admission in Class VI at Thondamuthur Girls Higher Secondary School.

Coimbatore district

Total schools – 2,063

Total students – 6,07,258

Total teaching staff – 25,714

Targeted – 24,977

Field Surveyor – 1,762

Students identified – 21, 389

Students admitted to schools again – 60%