Thrissur: Statistics show that a majority of school dropouts in the state are boys. According to the data collected by the education department, in 2022-23, 2947 students dropped out of school. 1839 of them are boys. It is indicated that a majority of students discontinue their studies in the 9th or 10th grade.

There are about 37 lakh school students in the state. 1327 dropped out from government schools, 1474 from aided and 143 from unaided schools. Although the percentage of dropouts is small, there is no system at the government level to find out what happens to these children after they discontinue their education.

Earlier the dropout was higher in districts with more tribal population. However, at present, Ernakulam district is experiencing more dropouts with 803 students discontinuing studies. According to the education department, one of the main reasons behind this is the children of migrant workers returning back to their native place with their families. 

However, Shastra Sahitya Parishad, which conducted a study on this, said the reason is not limited to this but also concerns children from Kerala dropping out of school. Educationists point out that once a child is enrolled in school, they are retained till class 9, even if they do not attend classes. Students are also not detained/failed until then. However, after class 9, many students are detained so as to not affect the SSLC pass percentage.

“If children do not come to school for more than 15 days, the government should come up with a way to investigate. Ward level committees and elders in tribal areas should take note of this. SHGs and Kudumbasree groups can be used to ensure attendance,” says Dr TP Kaladharan, Convenor of school education, committee of Shastra Sahitya Parishad.