Lok Sabha Question No. 3215 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-06
Subject: School Dropouts
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: RAM SWAROOP SHARMA, Sarfaraz Alam, RANJANBEN BHATT

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3215 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.08.2018

## School Dropouts

## †3215.   SHRI RAM SWAROOP SHARMA: SHRI SARFARAZ ALAM: SHRIMATI RANJANBEN BHATT:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)    whether any survey has been conducted to ascertain the number of school dropout students at present and if so, the details thereof, State-wise, especially in Himachal Pradesh;
- (b)    whether the said survey mention that the number of dropout of school students in the age group of 6 to 13 years has been declined and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)    whether it is also a fact that number of dropouts among the muslim community, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes category is more than the national average particularly in Auria District, UP and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (d)    whether  a  large  number  of  students  of  age  group  of  15  to  18  years  in  the  country  have dropped their studies and if so, whether the Government is considering to take any steps to restart their studies and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (e)    the other steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI UPENDRA KUSHWAHA)

- (a) The Ministry of  Human Resource  Development (MHRD) commissioned independent surveys in the years 2005, 2009 and 2014 to estimate the number of out of school children in the country. According to latest survey (2014), the State/UT wise details including Himachal Pradesh, of children who dropped out from the school, among the age group of 6-13 years is annexed.
- (b) According to survey, the number of school students who dropped out in the age group of 6-13 years increased from 20.46 lakh in 2009 to 22.42 lakh in 2014.
- (c) As per UDISE 2015-16, the dropout rate in the Muslim community in Auria District of  Uttar  Pradesh  is  higher  than  the  national  average  dropout  rate  of  Muslim  community, while  the  average  dropout  rate  of  Scheduled  Castes  (SC)  and  Scheduled  Tribes  (ST) category is better than the national average dropout rate of SCs and STs. The reasons for higher  dropout  among  Muslim  community  are  socio  economic  factors,  adolescence  issues, child  labour  issues,  early  child  marriage,  illitera household work and lack of understanding of medium of instruction. The comparison of average dropout  rate  in  Muslim  community,  Scheduled  Castes  and  Scheduled  Tribes  category    with National average is as under:-

|                        | Annual Average Dropout Rate Elementary Level   | Annual Average Dropout Rate Elementary Level   | Annual Average Dropout Rate Elementary Level   |
|------------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
|                        | SC                                             | ST                                             | Muslim                                         |
| Auraiya District, U.P. | 3.1                                            | 0.0                                            | 22.8                                           |
| India                  | 4.8                                            | 7.5                                            | 7.5                                            |

(d) & (e) As  per  UDISE,  2015-16,  the  total  number  of  enrolled  students  at  secondary  and higher secondary level in the country is 638.80 lakh. Number of children who dropped out at secondary and senior secondary level was 69.29 lakh. The Department of School Education and Literacy has launched the Samagra Shiksha - an Integrated Scheme for School Education as a Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  throughout  the  country  with  effect  from  the  year  2018-19.  This programme  subsumes  the  three  erstwhile  Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes  of  Sarva  Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE). It  is  an  overarching  programme  for  the  school  education  sector  extending  from  pre-school  to class  XII  and  aims  to  ensure  inclusive  and  equitable  quality  education  at  all  levels  of  school education.  It  envisages  the  'school'  as  a  continuum  from  pre-school,  primary,  upper  primary, secondary to senior secondary levels.

The  major  focus  of  the  scheme  is  to  ensure  retention  of  children  till  completion  of schooling with a special focus on girls students by providing support for different interventions like  survey  and  identification  of  out  of  school  children,  Special  Training  for  out-of-school children  at  elementary  level,  provision  of  free  textbooks  &  free  uniforms  as  per  Right  of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, upgradation of Kasturba Gandhi Balika  Vidyalayas  (KGBVs)  from  Classes  6  to  8  to  upto  Class  12,  Self-defence  training  for Girls, separate toilet for girls students, gender sensitization programmes, stipend for girls with special needs from Classes I to XII, enrolment and retention drives etc. to address issues relating to transition/retention of students in schools.

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  3215  TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  06.08.2018  ASKED  BY  SHRI  RAM SWAROOP SHARMA AND OTHERS REGARDING 'SCHOOL DROPOUTS'

State/UT wise details of children were dropped from the school among the age group 6-13 years

| Sl.No.   | STATES/UTs          |   Number of dropped out students |
|----------|---------------------|----------------------------------|
| 1        | Chhattisgarh        |                            71532 |
| 2        | Madhya Pradesh      |                           235384 |
| 3        | Uttar Pradesh       |                           466849 |
| 4        | Uttarakhand         |                            35156 |
| 5        | A&N Islands         |                                0 |
| 6        | Bihar               |                           294129 |
| 7        | Jharkhand           |                            37932 |
| 8        | Odisha              |                           234259 |
| 9        | West Bengal         |                           182927 |
| 10       | Chandigarh          |                             1090 |
| 11       | Haryana             |                                0 |
| 12       | Himachal Pradesh    |                                0 |
| 13       | Jammu &Kashmir      |                            13982 |
| 14       | Delhi               |                            40793 |
| 15       | Punjab              |                            26085 |
| 16       | Rajasthan           |                           220645 |
| 17       | Assam               |                           112390 |
| 18       | Arunachal Pradesh   |                             2894 |
| 19       | Manipur             |                             5997 |
| 20       | Meghalaya           |                            11135 |
| 21       | Mizoram             |                                0 |
| 22       | Nagaland            |                             2073 |
| 23       | Sikkim              |                              535 |
| 24       | Tripura             |                             1024 |
| 25       | Andhra Pradesh      |                            26175 |
| 26       | Goa                 |                                0 |
| 27       | Karnataka           |                            72078 |
| 28       | Kerala              |                             2942 |
| 29       | Lakshadweep         |                                0 |
| 30       | Puducherry          |                                0 |
| 31       | Tamil Nadu          |                            30820 |
| 32       | Dadra &Nagar Haveli |                              330 |
| 33       | Daman &Diu          |                                0 |
| 34       | Gujarat             |                            70744 |
| 35       | Maharashtra         |                            42270 |
|          | ALL INDIA           |                          2242171 |

Source: National Survey on Estimation of Out of School Children, 2014