J-K records over 16% dropout rate at secondary level schools

SRINAGAR — With the government claiming of admitting more than one lakh new entrants in the School Education Department, the Ministry of Education (MoE) on the contrary has said that there was a dropout rate of nearly 17 per cent among the students of secondary level.

The MoE has also said that the highest dropout rate in the School Education Department was at the secondary level.

According to the official documents of MoE, the news agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO) has noted that the “drop-out rate at the secondary level as per Unified District Information System for Education plus (UDISE) 2019-20 was 16.68 per cent across Jammu and Kashmir.”

The MoE has also suggested to the concerned authorities that the dropout rate in Jammu and Kashmir needs to be focused on by the concerned department to meet the target and the authorities must expedite community-based surveys, to identify issues for such a dropout.

Besides the dropout issue, the MoE has said that the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at Secondary, Higher Secondary level as per UDISE+ 2019-20 at the secondary level is 58.66 and at the higher secondary level is 38.40, respectively.

“Jammu and Kashmir government needs to develop an effective and comprehensive strategy to improve the gross enrolment at both the levels,” MoE said.

Meanwhile, KNO spoke to some of the teachers of government-run schools to understand the reasons for the decline in enrolment of students in the institutions.

One of the teachers said poverty among the students was one of the main reasons for the decline of enrolment in public schools. “Most of the students studying in government schools belong from underprivileged families who quit their studies midway to earn the major chunk for their family,” he said.

The teacher also said that he has experienced several such cases wherein a student belongs from the middle class or underprivileged family and quit studies mid-way.

Another teacher said that the students of government schools are enjoying all the basic perks to continue their studies but the perception being created against the government schools also led to the decline in the public schools.

“Government schools have all the basic facilities like free textbooks, quality education, perks of mid-day meals and infrastructure but the perception that has been created against the schools is also a major reason for the decline in enrolment,” he said.