Manipur, which is continuously facing
violence and imposition of Internet ban, has something positive to share. Union
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan revealed that the Northeastern State achieved
a zero dropout rate for the year 2021-22 at Class 10.
This fact has come to light after the
minister gave out details of dropouts of Class 10 among various States in a
written reply at the ongoing Lok Sabha session.
A list of data from the last four years
since 2018 had been provided by Pradhan in which it was revealed that Manipur
has achieved a zero dropout rate in the Class 10 for the year 2021-22, a feat
that hints at the vastly improved education scenario in the State.
Remarkable is in the year 2018-19, the
dropout rate for Class 10 was 20.5 per cent, in 2019-20 the dropout rate was
14.82 per cent and in the year 2020-21 the dropout rate was 16.2 per cent.
For the achievement, Manipur Chief
Minister N Biren Singh has attributed to the two flagship initiatives of the
Manipur Government, which launched School Fagathansi and Lairik Tamhanlasi in
2019.
“This success is the result of the two
flagship initiatives of the Manipur Government – School Fagathansi and Lairik
Tamhanlasi – launched in 2019, a year after the first BJP Government came to
power in the State. While certain initiatives in States like Delhi get more
media attention, our government in Manipur has been silently working towards
improving the quality of education in government-run schools. The results are
there to see,” remarked N Biren Singh.
School Fagathansi Mission is aimed at
converting one government school in each of the 60 Assembly constituencies in
Manipur to an ideal school. The schools are provided with all necessary fund
and infrastructure, including human resources to improve the quality of
education. The learning outcomes are also monitored.
“Because of scarcity of fund, we
initially chose only one school in each constituency. Gradually, the number of schools
will be increased,” added CM Biren Singh.
Currently, 180 schools have been
included under this scheme. Student enrolments in government schools covered
under the School Fagathansi Mission are gradually increasing over the years.
In 2019, total enrolments in these
schools were 38,379. It increased to 47,587 in 2022, up by 24 per cent.
Meanwhile, Lairik Tamhanlasi is aimed at
bringing back students, who dropped out of school for various reasons,
including financial paucity.
In the Lairik Tamhanlasi scheme, apart
from providing free textbook and uniform, the government facilitates free
remedial coaching and bridge course to children who had been out of school
owing to poor academic performance.
The government also provides stipend to
children belonging to SC and ST communities, those with special needs or
infected with HIV and those who are orphans.
The students are readmitted into the Class
they dropped out of it. Education is provided free of cost to them, up till Class
12.
Thanks to these two schemes, in 2023, 82
per cent of the students who appeared for 10th board in Manipur passed the
examination, the highest ever in the State.
NE Watch Desk
