Educational Planning: Dropout of CWSN and SLD Children in India

Abstract

India is striving for universal enrollment up to secondary level in schools. The planning documents reveal that Net Enrollment Ratio (NER) is 88.1 for primary, 70.02 for upper primary, and Gross Enrollment Ration (GER) is 66.4 for secondary and 39.3 for Sr. secondary classes in India. The paper analyses the data on disability in schools as reported under Unified District Information System of Education (UDISE), which is collected since 2010 on ten types of disabilities. The data reveals the pattern of enrollment and dropout of CWSN as a whole and SLD specifically as it is hidden disability and misses the focused attention of educational planners. The findings reveal that dropout of CWSN starts from class V onwards. The education system is retaining 12.02% CWSN and 5.3% SLD only in class XII who were enrolled in class I. The findings point out that CWSN are getting enrolled but not being retained in the schools. Thus these findings are significant to examine existing policies for access and retention in schools, to modify teaching learning strategies, evaluation provisions and incentives schemes to retain the enrolled CWSN. The drop out of SLD from the education system is a very big loss to the country as these children are geniuses and could prove to be big assets. Besides enrolled children there is a large number of out of school CWSN who need to be enrolled. The paper would help educational planners to build inclusive education in India and also to achieve target of universal learning along with universal enrollment.