Dhanbad: Deputy commissioner (DC) Aditya Ranjan has set up an eight-member monitoring committee to identify out-of-school and dropout children across the district and ensure their re-enrolments. The first phase of the drive will start from Tuesday and conclude on Aug 16.The move comes as part of a statewide special enrolment campaign, launched by the state school education and literacy department to bring children, who have discontinued their studies, back into the mainstream education system.The committee is made up of railway officials, the district mining officer, district welfare officer, labour superintendent, district social welfare officer, district transport officer, general manager of the industries department and block development officers. The panel will oversee implementation and monitoring of the campaign across the district.District education officer (DEO) Abhishek Jha on Monday said the drive will be carried out in two phases. “The first phase, from July 14 to Aug 16, will focus on extensive household surveys and field verification to identify out-of-school and dropout children. Special attention will be given to vulnerable locations where children are at risk of child labour or exclusion from education, including hotels, dhabas, brick kilns, stone crushers, bus stands, railway stations, slums, construction sites, migrant labour camps and automobile repair workshops.”The second phase, from Aug 17 to Sept 7, will focus on enrolling identified children in schools and integrating them into the formal education system. Schools achieving complete enrolment of eligible children will be recognised as “Zero Dropout Schools.”Jha said Tundi block has been identified as highest-priority area under the campaign as it has recorded the highest number of school dropouts in the state. Officials hope the campaign will significantly reduce dropout rates and move the state closer to achieving universal school enrolment and improved learning outcomes.
