Karnataka: Covid did not aggravate school dropout rate, says report

MYSURU: Despite concerns about the pandemic aggravating school dropout rate due to the closure of schools, irregular online classes, and loss of livelihood of low-income families, it has been found that the numbers are similar to academic year 2019-20
According to a report by District Information System for Education (DISE+), the overall dropout rate of Karnataka for Classes 1 to 10 was 16.7% in the year 2020-21.It was 16.8% the previous academic year.
In the year 2020-21, 18.4% boys dropped out in secondary school (Classes 9 and 10) level. This number was 19.4% in the previous year. However, during this period, the dropout rate of girls studying in these two classes increased from 14.1% to 14.9%. Interestingly, in all levels — primary, upper primary, and secondary — more boys dropped out compared to girls.
The report also pointed out that only 6% of government schools had internet facilities in the first year of Covid-19 which affected digital education intervention for the students. However, in this period, 37.4% of government-aided private schools and 67.18% of private unaided schools had internet facilities.
The report also found that 87.2% of government schools in neighbouring Kerala had internet facilities this year.
Meanwhile, activists say with full-fledged classes resuming only this year, a clear picture may emerge only in this year’s report. “There was a lot of confusion during the pandemic. At ground level, we are coming across many kinds of challenges with regard to the drop outs this year,” said Nagasimha G Rao, director, Child Rights Trust.