Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 27
The enrolment in government schools from Class I to VIII in Haryana has decreased by 16 per cent this year. This is being attributed to a government’s decision to link admissions with the Aadhaar card as fake enrolment, if any, have been weeded out.
Enrolment in private schools, meanwhile, has increased by only 5 per cent.
The matter came up for discussion during a meeting of an executive committee of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, presided over by Chief Secretary DS Dhesi on Tuesday.
Alok Verma, State Project Director, Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad, said: “The enrolment has decreased from 19.58 lakh last year to 16.32 lakh this year.”
He admitted that duplicity or fake enrolment in the past could not be ruled out. “After linking Aadhaar numbers with admissions, transparency has been ensured.”
The government provides midday meal, uniforms, books, scholarships and some other material to children from Class I to VII in its schools.
And if the difference in enrolment figures is because of fake admissions last year, it might mean benefits provided by the government were also misappropriated at some level.
Verma, who looks after the affairs of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, refused to comment on the possible misuse of benefits and said the matter was not under his domain.
Keshani Anand Arora, Additional Chief Secretary (School Education), and RS Kharab, Director, Elementary Education, could not be contacted.
This year’s enrolment figure points out that on an average, 140 children have “dropped out” from each of 14,000 schools in the state.
Mewat and Palwal districts have registered the maximum drop in enrolment.
Additional Chief Secretaries of the Women and Child Development, Finance, Social Justice and Empowerment and School Education Departments; State Project Coordinator, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan , Director, NCERT; and all Additional Deputy Commissioners of Haryana were present at the meeting.
Numbers say it all
19.58 lakh
Last year’s enrolment
16.32 lakh
This year’s enrolment
On an average, 140 children have “dropped out” from each of 14,000 schools in the state
Mewat and Palwal districts have registered the maximum drop in enrolment