Jangalmahal: ‘Over 4K at-risk pupils reintegrated into schools every month’

Kolkata: The initiative of the state School Education Department to prevent dropout rates in Jangalmahal is proving effective slowly but surely, with as many as 4,000 students identified as at-risk of dropping out being brought back to school each month.

The department launched the globally utilized ‘Early Warning Systems’ for Jangalmahal, comprising Bankura, Jhargram, West Midnapore, and Purulia districts, last October. This was in response to enrollment data showing that nearly 49,000 children had dropped out of Class 10 in these four districts.

Statistics reveal that in January-February, 6,626 students were identified as at-risk. Of these, 4,458 were successfully reintegrated into schools. Similar results were seen in March, with 4,500 students returning to school from a pool of 5,500 identified at-risk.

The gap between the number of students identified and brought back to school has been steadily narrowing. In August, 4,180 out of 4,442 identified students were brought back to school, leaving only 262. This is a significant improvement from the initial months when the difference was 2,168.

Between those four districts, a higher number of at-risk students have been reported in West Midnapore, with 3,477 identified in January-February. This trend is observed throughout all the months the project is running.

From January to August, a total of 32,397 students were identified, and 24,887 have been brought back to schools. A senior official of the department clarified that this figure is not cumulative, as many students have been identified multiple times over several months.

“This is a continuous process that requires consistent effort,” said an official from the School Education Department. “On average, we’ve been able to bring 4,000 children back to school each month.

Without our intervention, we would have likely lost these students to dropouts.”

Teachers, headmasters, para-teachers, district inspectors of schools (DIs), circle inspectors, district education officers (DEOs), and local community members have played crucial roles in the

project’s success.

Early signs of potential dropouts include high absenteeism, poor academic performance, behavioural issues, declining school engagement, family challenges, substance abuse, peer pressure,

and bullying.

Once identified, remedial actions are taken according to departmental guidelines.

The department is exploring the possibility of expanding this Early Warning System to other districts in West Bengal, initially implemented as a pilot project in Jangalmahal.