Demography Leaves Imprint on Assam School Dropout Rate

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Despite efforts from the state government, the school dropout rate in Assam continues to remain high due to higher dropouts in sar and other minority-dominated areas in the state.

According to the information given before the Parliament by the Union Ministry of Education recently, as many as 68,843 children have been identified as out of schools for the 2024-25 academic year in Assam.

For instance, the school dropout rate in the South Salmara district was 32 percent in 2022-23 compared to just four percent in the Sivasagar district in that academic year.

According to Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, the overall school dropout rate in the state continues to remain high because of the higher dropout rates in tea garden and sar areas. "Mankachar has the highest school dropout rate in the state. The school dropout rate is higher in tea garden areas as well. However, the setting up of model schools in garden areas and other initiatives has yielded positive results," the minister said.

According to official sources, school dropout rate depends much on demography. The school dropout rates are higher in minority-dominated districts like Dhubri, Goalpara, Mankachar, Morigaon, Barpeta, etc. On the contrary, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, etc., districts have comparatively lower dropout rates. The school dropout rates are also higher in the hill districts of the state because of the difficult terrains.

According to sources, the state government has been developing school infrastructure and other amenities through Gunotsav and SSA, besides extending incentives like Nijut Moina to girl children in order to arrest the menace of school dropouts.

An official from the Education Department said, "A multifaceted approach like better school infrastructure, teachers' training, community engagement, etc., can keep this challenge at bay."

 Also Read: Assam's School Dropout Rates Show Increase, Evaluation Numbers Decline

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