Lok Sabha Question No. 2206 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-02
Subject: Dropout at Secondary/ Higher Secondary Level
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Ritesh Pandey

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2206 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.08.2021

## Dropout at Secondary/ Higher Secondary Level

2206. SHRI RITESH PANDEY:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  secondary  school  dropout  rates  among  boys  and  girls  belonging  to  General, Other Backward Caste, Scheduled Caste, and Scheduled Tribe (OBC/SC/ST) categories;
- (b)  the  reasons  for  higher  secondary  school  dropout  rates  among  boys  and  girls  in OBC, SC, and ST categories, as compared to General categories;
- (c) whether the Government has stepped in place or planned to address this disparity among secondary school dropout rates of OBC, SC, and ST students, as compared to General students;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

- (a) & (b): As per Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 201920 the secondary school dropout rates among boys belonging to General, OBC, SC, and  ST  categories  are  11.6%,  17.5%,  19.8%  and  25.5%  respectively  and    the secondary school dropout rates among girls belonging to General, OBC, SC, and ST categories  are  10.3%,  15.4%,  17.4%  and  22.5%  respectively.  As  per  the  Report  of National  Statistical  Survey  (NSS)  75th  Round,  the  reasons  for  not  attending  or dropping out of school, inter-alia, include poverty/economic reasons, child not interested in studies, children engaged in domestic activities or in economic activities.
- (c) to (e):  Government of India launched Samagra Shiksha - an Integrated Scheme for school  education,  w.e.f.  2018-19,  as  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.  Under  Centrally

Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha, financial assistance is provided to the States and UTs for various activities to reduce dropouts, which include opening/strengthening of  new  schools  up  to  senior  secondary  level,  construction  of  school  buildings  & additional classrooms, setting up, up-gradation and running of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas  (KGBV)  for  girls  belonging  to  disadvantaged  groups  such  as  Scheduled Castes(SC),  Scheduled  Tribes(ST),  Other  Backward  Classes,  Minority  and  Below Poverty  Line(BPL),  setting  up  of  residential  schools/hostels  named  Netaji  Subhas Chandra Bose Avasiya Vidyalayas in hilly terrain, small and sparsely populated areas for children without adult protection who are in need of shelter and care, free uniform to all girls, and boys belonging to SC, ST and BPL at elementary level, free text books to all  children,  transport  allowance,  undertaking  enrolment  drives,  residential  as  well  as non residential trainings, seasonal hostels/ residential camps etc. Financial assistance is also provided for aids and appliances for children with special needs.

Under Samagra Shiksha, for the first time in 2021-22, financial assistance upto Rs. 2000 per annum has been envisioned for supporting Out of School Children of age group  of  16-19  years,  belonging  to  socio  economically  disadvantaged  groups,  for completing  their  education  through  NIOS/SIOS,  for  accessing  course  materials  and certification.

This Department has developed an online module for compiling the data of Out of School Children (OoSC) identified by each State/UT and their mapping with Special Training  Centres  (STC)  on  the  PRABANDH  Portal  (http://samagrashiksha.in).  The concerned State/UT validates the child wise information of the identified OoSC and STC uploaded  by  the  concerned  Block  Resource  Centre  of  the  State  for  monitoring  the progress  of  mainstreaming  of  OoSC.  Also,  Bridge  Course  Modules  have  been developed  by  National  Council  of  Educational  Research  and  Training  (NCERT)  for bridging  the  learning  gaps  of  Out  of  School  Children  studying  in  Special  Training Centers (STC) under the provision of RTE Act, 2009.

Also,  under  National  Means-cum-Merit  Scholarship  Scheme  scholarship  is awarded to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop out at class VIII and encourage them to continue the study at secondary stage.

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