TN keen to prevent school drop outs

Updated on: Thursday, February 03, 2011

School Education Minister, Thangam Thennarasu said through the ongoing special efforts in the state, children dropping out from schools are being brought back to schooling.

Speaking to reporters at Nagapattinam after holding a review meeting with the Chief Educational Officers of six districts, the Minister said Chief Minister M Karunanidhi was keen on ensuring that all children of school going age compulsorily attended schools.
"Special initiative is underway to drastically reduce school dropouts and to bring the dropouts back to the schooling system. The special efforts include opening of bridge schools, new primary schools and upgrading existing schools," Thennarasu said.

In Nagapattinam district alone, during the past four-and-half years, 10 new primary schools have been started and 96 existing schools have been upgraded, he said.

The Minister made special mention about the 'bridge school' at Keezhakarai Iruppu village near Nagapattinam where 103 children belonging to the Narikurava community have been brought to the schooling system. "The children studying in this school are being offered food and other amenities. Infrastructure facilities have been made under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan scheme and the school is being run in
coordination with Vanavil, an NGO,"he said.

After spending about an year at the bridge school learning the basics, the Children will be brought to the mainstream education system, said the Minister.

Bridge schools are where children belonging to the narikurava commounity and poor families are taught elementary education before being brought to the proper schooling system.

The Minister said he had reviewed the performance of Chief Educational Officers of six districts- Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Cuddalore, Vizhupuram, Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri - in implementing education development schemes and other welfare schemes of the governmen.

District Collector C Munianathan, Director of School Education Perumalsamy, Director of Primary Education Mani, Director of Matriculation Schools Devarajan and other officials participated.

TN keen to prevent school drop outs

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