School dropouts to be brought back'

Mangalore, April 18: Attempts to bring back dropouts from schools in the district will be made in the days to come, said Dr. K N Vijayprakash, Chief Executive Officer, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat.

He was speaking after releasing an educational report at a discussion programme organized by Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, Department of Public Instructions, DK and 'Prajayatna' at Taluk Panchayat, Mangalore, on Wednesday.

Stating that dropouts in Dakshina Kannada district number 137, Dr. Vijayprakash said that attempts would be made to motivate them and bring them back to the mainstream. “The dropout rate in the district is a lowly 0.05%. One of the reasons for children dropping out of schools is poverty. If a family is self-sufficient, it won't happen. We plan to visit Koraga colonies and urge parents of such children to go back to school and avail residential schooling facilities”, he said.

Dr. Vijayaprakash also said that 858 children in the district have been identified to be suffering from malnutrition.

Lamenting that children today are put under unnecessary pressure to score good marks and get the best possible CET rankings, Dr. Vijayprakash said that a motivational atmosphere is what students need.

“This year, right from bringing about changes in seating arrangement of children, trying to bring the so called 'dull students' to the front benches to implementing confidence building exercises in schools driving away their fears of subjects like English and Mathematics, we have taken measures to improve schooling. Teachers have given extensive coaching to students this time around. We are hopeful that SSLC results this year would be heartening”, he said, adding that by next year Right to Education Act will be implemented in the district and all necessary infrastructure would be in place.

Commenting on the highlights of the report, Dr. N Chandregowda, Lecturer, said that the sex ratio reports of Dakshina Kannada have been alarming wherein there has been a dip in the number of female children. He opined that the lack of Physical Education in many government schools was a cause of concern. On the occasion, he also stressed on the need to maintain better hygiene standards in government schools in terms of introducing soaps and sinks for children and aprons and headgears for kitchen staff, in addition to cleaner toilets.