Studying in renowned private schools under Right to Education (RTE) act till class eight, students are unable to manage studying in government school environment and hence, dropping out of schools completely. This issue is affecting all parts of the country and state. Shockingly, Indore has the highest drop-out rate in the state with a peak in class VIII.
Indore records drop-out rate at 18.56 for class VIII as shown in the Unified District Information System for Education database developed by Department of School Education, MHRD, Govt of India and maintained by National Informatics Centre, Govt of India.
On the other hand, the figures for Bhopal, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ujjain and other districts are much lower.
What is the cause of rising dropouts after class VIII?
There is a steep difference between studying in government and private schools, explained Diyanshi Pateriya, who recently dropped out of school. “I was studying in a private school under RTE since nursery,” she said.
Despite initial hiccups, Divyanshi was among above average students in her class and aimed to become a scientist in future. “After class VIII, my mother could not afford to pay Rs 4,000 per month for school fee as other students, so I had shift to a government school,” she said.
Divyanshi tried to study in the school for a year, but could not continue. “Teachers were not as attentive, there was lack of focus and I could barely understand anything properly, so though I passed, I did not feel like going to school,” she said.
Divyanshi is pursuing other private skill courses and funding their fee by working part time. Other students with similar experiences include Kunal Yadav, Aarti Dhake, Kanchan Dhope and Himanshu Kajra.
Education department says…
“Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act (RTE) is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted on 4 August 2009, which describes the modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education for children between the ages of 6 to 14 years in India under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution,” quoted district project coordinator (DPC) Akshay Rathore.
He added that as per the act, students admitted under the act into private schools are assisted by fee till class VIII. “A proposal citing increasing the assistance for students to complete High School and Higher Secondary school has been sent, but no decision in the regards has been taken as yet,” Rathore said.
Admissions under RTE
Admissions under RTE began in the year 2011-12. Last year, 2,35,901 students had registered for admissions under RTE in MP. About 1,77,835 students were allotted a school under the act in their area. From the last academic session, government increased the fee paid to private school per student from Rs 4,200 to Rs 4,600 per month.
Tina
Class VIII student dropout rate
Place- Dropout Rate
MP- 14.97
Indore- 18.64 (highest)
Gwalior- 5.19
Bhopal- 10.49
Ujjain- 14.42
Jabalpur- 10.35
Alirajpur- 4.43 (lowest)
Overall Higher Secondary Dropout Rate for MP: 23.76
