BENGALURU: Over 1.68 lakh children in the age group of 7 to 14 dropped out of schools in 2014, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Kimmane Ratnakar has said.
In a written reply to a query by BJP’s Ramachandra Gowda in the Legislative Council, Ratnakar stated that only 22,741 children dropped out of school the year before. Of the 1.68 lakh dropouts, 67,655 were SC/ST students.
According to the minister, some of the reasons for the increase are schools being far away, children forced to earn for family, fear of teachers, unfriendly school environment and migration of parents.
He said several steps have been taken to get dropouts back to schools, including offering residential facilities for children and creating awareness about the importance of education.