CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu School Education Department (TNSED) has announced that this year’s Out-of-School Children survey will be conducted from August 1, targeting children aged six to 18 who have either dropped out or never enrolled in school.
In past years, the survey was typically conducted in May and June, ahead of school reopening, to facilitate the timely re-enrolment of children.
“This year, we have decided to conduct the survey in August, after the enrolment drive is completed, so that we can identify children who are still not attending school,” said a senior official overseeing the survey.
During this year’s survey, student details will be uploaded through the TNSED Administrator School mobile app.
As per the circular issued for the survey, students will be classified into two main categories – to be admitted and to be verified. The first category will include children who are yet to be enrolled in school due to factors such as migration or family circumstances, while the second category will have details of children who have either passed away or migrated to another state or joined ITI or polytechnic courses.
For students who have enrolled in ITI or polytechnic courses, their Education Management Information System IDs will be cross-verified with the Directorate of Technical Education in September. The department has also listed over 70 reasons for the school dropout, and grievances identified during the survey will be forwarded to the relevant departments for appropriate action.
Ahead of the survey, a preparatory meeting will be held under the leadership of the district collector, involving other key departments such as Labour, the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH), Childline, Social Welfare, Rural Development, Health, Welfare of the Differently Abled, and NGOs. Follow-up meetings will also be conducted at the block and school levels, involving School Management Committees, the circular stated.
“The department has a system in place where teachers, headmasters and Block Resource Teacher Educators (BRTEs) are expected to track potential dropouts, students who have been absent for more than 15 days. As per the circular issued for this year’s survey, the major reason for dropouts is interstate or intrastate migration. In such cases, tracking the child becomes impossible for us. This is why it is essential to conduct the survey every year, as it ensures the involvement of multiple departments and helps cover vulnerable areas,” said a BRTE from Sivaganga district. He added that the majority of the dropouts are in Classes IX to XII in the state.