The School and Mass Education department will implement the new set of guidelines from the New Year.
The Minister held meeting with the department officials and members of the UNICEF over the dropout in secondary schools in Odisha, on Tuesday.
According to the new guidelines, school teachers and school management members need to approach the parents of absent student.
Here are the guidelines:
- If a student absent for 7 days (continuously) – class teacher interact with parents and counsel to attend the school, regularly
- If absent of 10 days – Headmaster to interact with parents
- If absent for 15 days – SMDC/PRI members of the area to meet parents and convince, motivate and counsel the child to attend the schools
- If in the next 3 (Three) days after meeting the Parents & counseling, the Child does not come to the School, the Block Education Officer/ABEO will go to the Parents of the Child and make sincere efforts and counsel the Parents to send the Child to the School.
- If, a Child does not come to the School continuously for a period of 30 (Thirty) days after all the efforts indicated above, the Child will be identified as “Out of School (Drop out)” will be mentioned as such in the Admission Register & Attendance Register. All out effort to be made to bring the child to the fold of school. Contingency, available with RMSAup to Rs.5000/- can be used by the Head Master/SMDC at school level for the purpose. District Education Officer should monitor this agenda at least once in a month during the monthly review meeting.
- If a Child comes to the School after 30 (Thirty) days of continuous absence, the Child will be re-admitted and if required, remedial classes will be arranged for the Child by the existing teachers of the School.
- Many times the students also need proper counselling to actively participate in schools. For such child friendly counselling an institutional arrangement is necessary. So it’s proposed that each High School will have a 4-5 member ‘counselling committee’ under the Chairmanship of the Head Master/Mistress with the following members:
A Male Teacher who has the counselling skill (to be declared as Counsellor) Or A Female Teacher having counselling skill (to be declared as Counsellor) (in case of Girls or Boys High School, one teacher either male or female as the case may be) President SMDC or his nominee who should be a member of the SMDC Concerned Class Teacher to which the student belongs to Services of one Counsellor from Swadhar/Short Stay Home /Ujjwala institutions can be requisitioned. (District Education Officers to empanel the list of Counsellors in consultation with the District Social Welfare Officer (DSWO) & communicate to the concerned school with their
address and telephone numbers) .
Alternatively, if schools desires the existing SMDC can act as ‘Counselling Committee’ and a professional counsellor available in nearby Swadhar home / Short Stay Home / Ujjwala institutions can be invited to the meeting. But, identified teachers (male and female) are to be designated as counsellors, to counsel and support the students when ever needed. - Any student who will remain absent for a period of more than 15 days will be referred to the Counselling Committee by the respective class teacher and on a fortnightly basis the Committee will sit to consider such cases and follow up action is to be taken on the basis of the recommendation of the Committee. RMSA with the help of UNICEF will work-out a Capacity Building of these committee members and teachers.
The District Education Officer will monitor the observance of the guidelines in letter and spirit and add this agenda in the monthly review meeting. DEO will submit report online to the Director, Secondary Education and Director, RMSA on a monthly basis on out of school students. RMSA should prepare the review format and circulate to the district. The guidelines will come in to force with immediate effect.