Government. Fear that students have either lost interest in studies or dropped out due to closure of teaching programs
Government. Fear that students have either lost interest in studies or dropped out due to closure of teaching programs
After the loss of two back-to-back academic sessions covid-19 pandemicNearly 30% of students are no longer attending schools in Odisha in primary, secondary and higher secondary classes.
A disturbing trend came to the fore when State government reopened schools After normalcy was restored and started checking the attendance sheet.
“On analysis of the daily attendance data provided by the District Education Officers, it is observed that around 70% of the students are attending the classes. However, on detailed analysis, it is observed that in case of districts like Malkanagiri, Boudh, Gajapati, Sambalpur and Nuapada the attendance in class-I to class-V is less than the state average,” said Bishnupada Sethi, School and Mass Education ( SME) Secretary.
Mr Sethi said this is not a healthy sign for students not attending schools despite the government implementing mid-day meal provision and learning recovery scheme.
To compensate for the loss of education, the state government cut summer vacations and reduced the school timings from 6 am to 9 am.
Similarly, in terms of attendance for classes VI to class VIII, districts like Malkanagiri, Boudh, Sambalpur, Nuapada also performed below the state average, the analysis said.
According to the SME department, the performance of districts like Gajapati, Balangir, Bargarh, Sonpur, Nuapada, Cuttack, Khordha, Koraput, Ganjam, Boudh, Malkangiri, Keonjhar and Sambalpur is behind the state average in the secondary wing.
The overall attendance in higher secondary classes in Gajapati, Sonpur, Baragarh, Kandhamal and Nuapada is extremely low, which is a matter of concern.
“It may happen that these students who are not attending offline classes, may have gone out with their parents due to pandemic situation and many other reasons not to continue with their academic activities. have lost interest in , which needs analysis,” emphasized Mr Sethi.
In fact, it has been observed that many students who have passed class-VIII are not taking re-admission in class-IX and may drop out.
“Special care should be taken to get them admitted at the secondary level in nearby schools. So we have to devise a location-specific strategy to bring the students back to the classroom,” the SME secretary told the district collectors.
If 30 per cent absences are taken out, the number of students not attending schools could be in the range of 20 lakhs. It is not yet known whether the same group of students continues to bunk schools.
As alarming as the disturbing trend appears to be, the education department has sounded the alarm, asking field functionaries to conduct a micro-level survey at the school level that lists out-of-school students.
As part of the strategy to woo students back to schools, collectors have been asked to direct that “junior teachers posted in schools may be sent to the homes of absent students to ascertain the reason for their absence from the school.”
These junior teachers should also motivate the students and their parents to send their wards to the school and its benefits and the steps taken by the government to provide free books, free uniforms, MDM and scholarships and cycles to the students needed.
Shri Sethi said that school management committees, representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions and village level committees should be involved to bring the students back to schools.
Recently, the Odisha government suffered another setback when over 43,000 students did not appear to write the final examination of class X, which is considered as a significant milestone in one’s academic career.