Coimbatore: The school education department has launched a survey to find out the number dropouts in the district and take steps to put them back in schools.
A Samagra Shiksha official with the department said they had been collecting details of long-term absentees during the academic year 2019-20 from each school to visit their houses to understand the reasons for discontinuing studies and persuade them to continue schooling.
To carry out the exercise, the official said, they had formed block-level teams comprising regular/special teachers, educational volunteers and members of non-governmental organizations. The survey, which commenced on Saturday (November 21), will conclude on December 15.
The survey has been conducted annually since 2002. “It is usually conducted before the start of academic year (i.e., during April and May). But this year, the survey was postponed as the schools were closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown,” the official said.
Teachers say this year it is a challenge to identify the dropouts and persuade them to attend the school as many students, who do not have access to smart phones or televisions, have given up the studies. “Until the schools reopen and students start coming to schools, identifying all the dropouts would be difficult.”