Even after being admitted to schools repeatedly, at least five per cent of student dropouts fail to go to schools again, say Block Resource Teacher Educators (BRTEs), urging the State School Education Department to come up with a solution to address the issue permanently. An android mobile application to keep track of these schoolchildren may help address the problem, they said.
According to a BRTE worker, "A survey is conducted every year in November and April by the school education department under Samagra Shiksha to keep track of students admitted to schools under the RTE Act.”
"For instance, in 2018, on an average, 1,800 students were found to have been admitted to nearby schools under RTE during the November survey. Before the next survey in April 2019, at least 100 students would have dropped out of school due to various reasons such as lack of parental care and financial issues. During the April month survey, we had to admit the same students to schools again," she said.
"To avoid this, if the education department designs android application by adding options such as uploading details and education activities of students who are absent for a minimum of 15 days, BRTEs can easily contact the students and can take steps to bring them back to schools immediately and don't have to wait for three to four months for the next survey cycle. Students can also continue education without a gap," he said.
Tamil Nadu Block Resource Teacher Educators Association on March 8 has submitted a petition with the Samagra Shiksha project director R Sudhan regarding the need for an app.
According to BRTE association chief C Annamalai, "At least 2,000 students had dropped out of schools during the pandemic in Coimbatore alone. Along with the app, there must be exclusive committees to track the students at district-level."
When asked about the proposal, Chief Educational Officer N Geetha told TNIE, "We have instructed headmasters to track students if they take leave for more than 10 days. Some teachers, too, keep track of students on a regular basis.”