Contrary to the claims of the authorities of receiving an overwhelming response to the “Aao School Chalein Campaign”, the dropout rate of female students at the secondary education level in Jammu and Kashmir increased to 6.3% during the 2021-22 academic year.
Minister of State for Education, Jayant Choudhary, shared data in the Rajya Sabha the increase in dropout cases comes after a significant decline from 18.6% in 2019-20 and 17.7% in 2018-19, but it marks a rise from the 4.6% recorded in 2020-21.
The dropout rates for girls at the elementary education level have consistently decreased, falling from 6.9% in 2018-19 to 3.8% in 2021-22.
To combat dropout rates, the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) is implementing the Samagra Shiksha scheme, which aims to provide universal quality education and bridge gender and social gaps. Measures under this initiative to promote girls’ education include:
Establishing neighborhood schools according to state guidelines.
Providing free uniforms and textbooks for girls up to Class VIII.
Ensuring gender-segregated toilets in schools.
Offering self-defense training for girls from Classes VI to XII.
Providing stipends for Children with Special Needs (CWSN) girls from Classes I to XII.
The scheme also includes state-specific projects like life skills programs, awareness drives, installation of incinerators and sanitary pad vending machines, and vocational education at the secondary level.
Additionally, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) have been set up in educationally backward blocks where rural female literacy rates are below the national average. These residential schools cater to girls from disadvantaged backgrounds, including Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), minorities, and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, offering education from Classes VI to XII.
The government continues to monitor dropout trends through the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), which compiles educational indicators across states and Union Territories. The Ministry of Education remains committed to improving retention rates and ensuring equitable education access for girls in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Aao School Chalein Campaign” launched in J&K to increase enrolment
Authorities claimed that student enrolment in the ongoing academic year has increased by more than 1.2 Lakh students in government-run schools after the launching of the “Aao School Chalein campaign”.
“In the year 2022-23, AAO School Chalein Campaign was launched and there was a notable increase of 17 percent, resulting in a total enrolment of around 14.18 Lakhs”, authorities claimed.
It also said that in 2023-24, again enrollment witnessed, an increasing trend, after the deletion of duplicate entries, and a substantial increase in the pre-primary category, has been noticed over the years. 0.71 Lakhs (2021) to 1.57 Lakhs (2022-23) and now 1.80 Lakhs in 2023-24.
“During the academic year 2023- 24, the enrolment data of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) and Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) has been excluded from the total enrolment figures of government schools by MoE, which earlier remained a part of enrolment in the previous figures. As a result, the total enrolment in government schools stood at 13.84 Lakhs,” the official claimed.
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