JOIN USWhile the pandemic has adversely impacted almost everybody in one way or the other, perhaps the most worrisome consequence, to which not enough attention is being paid, is the rise in school and college dropouts, which will have a direct bearing on the quality of citizenry and human resources available in the future. While the Union Ministry of Education has issued some guidelines, a concrete action plan to bring dropouts back to the learning system is still missing. Globally, UNESCO has estimated that 24 million additional students and youth may drop out or not have access to schools due to the pandemic’s economic impact alone. In Karnataka, NGOs have found several students working as casual labourers to augment the lost income of their poor parents. While it is estimated that about 20% of students pursuing higher education have discontinued their studies, mainly due to financial constraints, the Department of Collegiate Education claims it is not aware of this disturbing trend, which only points to the state government’s cavalier attitude to an issue that needs urgent attention.
In its policy brief, the Right to Education Forum has estimated that 10 million girls in India could abandon secondary school due to the pandemic, which could disproportionately affect them by putting them at risk of early marriage and pregnancy, poverty and trafficking. Experts have also pointed out that it is important to ensure continuity of education as students tend to forget what they have studied in their previous class when there is a gap in learning.
While a door-to-door survey has begun to identify dropouts based on the Centre’s guidelines, there is an immediate need for affirmative action at the ground level so that the situation does not deteriorate further. Though the disruptions in the education system were more than evident in the beginning of the year, the central budgetary allocation for the sector was cut by 6% compared to the previous fiscal. Karnataka has allocated 13% of its expenditure for education, as against the national average of 15.9%. It is imperative to increase the national spend on education to at least 6% of GDP, as has been repeatedly recommended and promised, from the current 3.1%. Even as the government focusses on bringing back dropouts, it should simultaneously ensure that existing students do not discontinue their studies by offering them financial assistance, providing technical and non-technical learning aids, house visits by teachers and volunteers and classroom-on-wheels to take education to the doorstep, among others. The issue needs to be tackled on a war footing to ensure that the gains made in providing universal access to education are not negated.