Drive to bring dropouts back to classrooms in Assam’s Goalpara

GUWAHATI: To address the infringement of children’s rights, the Centre for Microfinance and Livelihood (CML) has launched a campaign focusing on the issues of child marriage, child trafficking and child labour in villages under the Balijana education block of Goalpara district. As part of the endeavour, CML is bringing school dropouts and other vulnerable sections of students back to classrooms.
A dedicated team of 15 education facilitators are visiting schools to bolster foundational literacy and numeracy, as well as conducting library classes in 75 schools within the Balijana block. They have successfully reintegrated numerous school dropouts back into the education system. The team also comprises language and mathematics coordinators.
Nine-year-old Asadul Islam’s journey took a turn when he left Bangalhar Desipara LP School during his first year in 2022. His parents, Hanif Ali and Azida Khatun, work tirelessly to make ends meet. Hanif is a coal worker in Ledo in the distant Tinsukia district, while mother Azida is also a daily wage labourer.
Asadul recalls being discouraged by a teacher who punished him for misbehaving, leading to a loss of interest in attending school. Besides, the demanding schedule of his parents left them little time for monitoring his school attendance. In March this year, thanks to CML’s intervention, Asadul enrolled at Bangalhar Desipara LP School again. His renewed commitment to education is evident in his aspiration to become an army officer. Despite past challenges, Asadul’s determination to pursue his dreams shines through, representing the strength of the human spirit amidst adversity.
The CML has identified 57 out-of-school children in the age group of 7-14 in the Balijana education block from last October to this July. It has set up a block resource centre (BRC) at the Balijana education block in Goalpara. The BRC was inaugurated on Saturday by additional DC Arun Kumar. Kandarpa Kalita, the area manager of CML, said the BRC will serve as a children’s library, a model FLN classroom with TLM, a teacher’s training centre, a community library, a resource centre for DIET and B Ed students, a motivational camp, and a venue for conducting student-teacher workshops, among other facilities.
Kuldeep Das, the district coordinator of Goalpara, said, “The primary reasons behind students dropping out of school are child marriage, child labour, child trafficking, and migration in Goalpara. Child marriage and child labour are the most pressing issues.”
Currently, CML is implementing a programme called Developing Foundational Literacy and Numeracy and Reducing Drop-out in primary schools across three rural blocks in Assam: Balijana in Goalpara, Srijangram in Bongaigaon, and Tamulpur in Tamulpur district. The CML has been collaborating with the Balijana education block of Samagra Siksha, Goalpara since 2019.