Chhattisgarh says students returning to school, credits mentorship plan

The Chhattisgarh government is making efforts to bring back to school those who have left studies.

For this, the education department has appointed “mentors”, who have been asked to talk to their parents and counsel the students to take fresh admission.

The mentors include a range of people from government officials to local public representatives. The department is taking help from retired teachers and officers to boost the campaign and strengthen the network.

According to a senior official of the education department, a mentor has been assigned for every dropout. The person’s is to visit the student’s home, impress upon him or her the importance of education, and associate the parents with the campaign.

The mentor will ensure that the student is re-admitted and he or she will not break the session.

“The efforts have yielded results. Over 94 per cent of the students who left school have returned,” the official said.

According to the department data of the last two years, 27,695 school dropouts were identified at elementary level in the academic session 2021-22. Of them, 26,074 (94.15 per cent) were brought back to school. Similarly, in the academic session 2022-23, 13,737 dropouts were identified and of those 11,944 (86.95 per cent) came back.

Children at secondary level are appearing in examinations through open school. In the academic session 2021-22, 27,083 students and in 2022-23, 18,948 appeared in the 10th and 12th examinations through this system.

The official said there were dropouts who were unable to adjust to the rest after re-joining because of their being older than their fellow students. They are being admitted to training sessions for skill development in accordance with their interest and talents.

The officer said the main reasons behind students dropping out, mostly in rural areas, were the indifference of their parents, a general lack of interest in education, and their having to care for younger siblings and help in domestic work.