Sarita Brara
\nOne piece of good news on the educational front from left wing extremist affected (LWE) districts in the country is that many areas have witnessed a declining trend in the dropout rates since the inception of Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan as was stated by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Shri Shashi Tharoor while replying to a question in Parliament during the just concluded winter session
\nA number of steps have been taken over the years by the centre and the concerned state governments to enroll children in schools in LWE affected areas and most importantly to retain them in schools and thus arrest the high rate of drop outs that these schools have been witnessing for many years .
\nCentral Government Initiatives and Assistance
\nThe opening of residential schools has been quite effective in retaining children in schools .According to official figures there are 77 residential schools\/ hostels in LWE districts with intake capacity of 31650 children. 889 Kasturba Gandhi Vidalaya residential schools for girls have been opened in the affected districts for class VI to VIII.
\nUnder the provisions of a scheme of the Ministry for Tribal Affairs 100 per cent central assistance is provided for construction of all Scheduled tribe girls\u2019 ashram schools and boys\u2019 ashram schools in naxal-affected districts identified by Ministry of Home Affairs from time to time .
\nThe Coordination with Ashram Shalas and other SC\/ST department schools by giving free text books, the mid day meal, teacher training school maintenance grant and teacher grant for teaching aids has also helped.
\nMulti Lingual Education in early grades in tribal districts of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh is another step that can improve learning comprehension and retention of children in schools.
\nThe centre has also sanctioned special training for drop outs or never enrolled children. Over 33280 lakh rupees have been sanctioned for 6, 59,668 out of school children for age appropriate admission in regular schools.
\nTransportation\/ escort facility for total of 47,909 children has been provided in 2011-12 and 2012-13 in LWE districts.
\nLWE districts are treated as Special Focused districts for need based planning and sanctions.
\nKG to PG Educational Hubs in Maharashtra
\nThe Maharashtra government is planning an initiative towards starting \u201cKG to PG\u201d educational hubs for tribal students in areas affected by Naxalite violence. These residential schools are meant to impart education to students from kindergarten to postgraduate level and are aimed at letting tribal communities enter the mainstream.
\nPorta Cabin Schools in Chhatisgarh
\nIn Chhattisgarh the state government there has installed pre-fabricated structures, porta cabin schools in all the districts of Bastar region. While it takes a long time to build permanent infrastructure for schools, the Pre-fabricated structures can be moved to areas where Naxalites have destroyed schools or where ever they are required. The porta cabin school scheme in Chhattisgarh has been implemented with the help of UNICEF and the state of Jharkhand has also approved funds for such schools.
\nBalbandhu Programme of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
\nAn innovative Balbandhu scheme initiated by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in strife torn areas two years back too has started making an impact. The scheme has been introduced in nine districts affected by civil strife in Sukhma in Chhhatisgarh, Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, Khammam in Andhra Pradesh, East Champaran, Sheohar, Jammui and Rohtas in Bihar and Kokrajhar and Chirang in Assam. Balbandhus are young people recruited from within the community to oversee the children in such areas go to school, return to schools if they have dropped out and trace and restore the missing children to their families . While these balbandhus may not have the power to enforce implementation but they can put pressure on the authorities by involving the community and the Panchayats towards this end An evaluation report on the Balbandhu programme says that these young recruits have given a distinct confidence to the children in these areas specially the school going ones.
\nAmong many other suggestion, recommendations, that the Balbandhu programme should be extended for at least two years in the same block and a new block should be opened up in the neighbouring district where the existing resource person and balbandhu can give basic operational training .
\nThe self help groups and Balbandhu committee should monitor Midday meal scheme and send regular reports.
\nStudents should be encouraged to form self help groups where the students good in studies could help weak children.
\nAccording to Dr. Shantha Sinha, the NCPCR Chairperson, the Right to Education Act has shown positive results and there has been an increase in enrolment but a lot more remains to be done in strife torn areas.She said that the things there are moving at slow pace and there is need to replicate the experiences of places that have shown good results.
\nThe President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has said that Education is the best antidote for violence, intolerance and inequality. After laying the foundation stone of two separate hostels for tribal students in the districts of Chhattisgarh recently, he said faith in humanity must be restored in the minds of youths so that the country can find its rightful place in the world.
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