The Hindu Business Line : Village Volunteer Force prods drop-outs to go ‘back2school’

But, he is not aware that ‘village volunteers’ have tracked his whereabouts and will soon take him to a school to continue studies under the ‘back2school’ project.

If a child, even from the district’s remotest village fails to turn up in class for a few days, a red signal pops up on the Collector’s computer. This alert is passed on to the village panchayat concerned, and the Village Volunteer Force (VVF) is in action to trace the child to roll him back into the school.

Every fifth day, three or four children are brought back to the school, says Dr Santhosh Babu, District Collector, Krishnagiri, one of the most backward districts in Tamil Nadu. The children are first put in a transit school, and later into mainstream schools, he adds.

In the last two years, the ‘back2school’ project has brought nearly 4,000 students (aged 5-14) back to schools. “We have only succeeded in bringing back 95 per cent of dropouts, but retention remains the biggest challenge,” he told journalists from Chennai as part of a Nasscom delegation.

Even as Dr Babu shows journalists details of children brought back to school, an alert informs that there were 150 dropouts in the last couple of months.

“We have 90 per cent dropouts because basic issues like family problems are not settled,” he adds.

In the ‘back2school’ project nearly 10,000 VVF members, child volunteers, panchayat presidents and headmasters of the 1,700-odd schools in the district are involved. The Collector has the complete background of every child in the district.

The VVF members go around villages and collect data about missing students from classrooms. The volunteers find out reasons from the school and families, and this information is keyed in at the taluk computer centres. Through the Tamil Nadu State Area Network the data is made available to the district administration. The Collector then takes action to solve the problem, Dr Babu says.

The administration first solves the root cause that forced the child to work. For instance, Muthu lost his father recently, and his mother is ailing.

Despite his bad health, Muthu was forced to work. “We immediately made arrangements to release money for medical requirements of Muthu and his mother,” says Dr Babu.

The ‘back2school’ software links all departments concerned such as the tahsildar’s office, the district police and administration. “Money is not an issue. We have nearly Rs 40 crore under the Sarva Shiksha Abiyan. We only need a concerted effect among all stakeholders,” he said.

According to Mr N. NR Shravanan, General Manager and Head (Administration), Syntel, a US-based IT and hi-end BPO company, the ‘back2school’ is a great e-governance success story and should be replicated in every district.

More Stories on : Education | Children & Parenting | Tamil Nadu

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