The Hindu 06.04.2010
Out-of-school: survey to identify children under way
Staff Reporter
TOTAL COVERAGE:Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan staff counselling the mother of a school drop-out in front of panchayat school at Iraniyam near Madurai on Monday.
MADURAI: Hundreds of block resource teacher educators, block resource centre supervisor, education volunteers and anganwadi workers fanned out across the district, even to remote corners, on Monday to identify ‘out-of-school' children. The survey will also cover migrant workers.
The survey, which will end on April 14, is being undertaken by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)-Tamil Nadu, to gear up for implementing the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 that makes elementary education an entitlement for children in the of 6 to 14. The Act, which came into force on April 1, makes it binding on the part of the State governments and local bodies to ensure that all children attended school.
Comprehensive survey
According to K. Sridevi, Additional Chief Educational Officer, SSA, the survey will form the primary database to implement the Act.
It would be comprehensive and ensure that no child was left out of the survey.
Intervention programmes would be implemented as per budget allocations. The survey would also cover Corporation areas, Ms. Sridevi said.
Enumerators in the field told The Hindu that around 310 ‘out-of-school' children were found on day one of the survey.
The teachers in the primary school of the respective habitation would counsel their parents to send their wards back to school.
The teachers would be aided by a Village Education Committee, which would be headed by the panchayat president. Children, thus identified, would be admitted to schools and some of them would be identified for special measures that could last between three months to one year to help them cope up.
Residential facilities would also be offered. The entire cost of the programme would be borne by the SSA. Once the survey was completed, all the children identified would be enrolled into schools.
They would be photographed and the data uploaded into a computer network to prevent duplication.
The SSA officials would also follow up the progress periodically, sources said.
