Tripura government to bring back dropout students back to schools

The Tripura government has decided to bring all the students aged 6-14 who had left the schools due to Covid pandemic back to their respective classes, an official said. The move came after an education department survey found out that 8,850 students from Classes I to VIII had left the schools since physical teaching remained shut for two years due to the Covid pandemic.

The department will embark on a mission to undertake an extensive survey to bring back all the dropout students to the 4,300 schools across the state as part of the School Cholo Abhiyan, an official on Saturday. "The survey work will be carried out by the third year students of colleges and volunteers under a new scheme called 'Earn with Learn'," he said.

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The volunteers will find out the exact number of dropout students and bring them back to the schools after convincing their guardians. It will start later in July, according to the official. A volunteer will be offered Rs 500 if he or she could bring back a dropout student to the school. The department plans to engage 10,000 volunteers, who will be assisted by the accredited social health activists and anganwadi workers.

It has also chalked out a plan to distribute school bags to the students studying in government and government-aided schools from nursery to Class II. "A total of 1,51,719 bangs will be required with a cost of Rs 7.58 crore. The tender will be floated shortly," the official said. To encourage girl students, bicycles are given to each girl student once she gets promoted to Class IX. This year, around 23,000 girl students will get the benefit.