Karnataka to sing dropout blues away

The massive door-to-door campaign would cover homes of dropouts as also those who never got to go to a school. These singing brigades would charm children between 6-14 and their parents with a medley of songs, theatrics and slogans.

By entertaining the audience with strumming strings and beating drums, organisers hope to get the message across loud and clear: Ba marali shaalege (Come back to school).

Some of the slogans the Education Department has coined for the campaign are ‘‘Education is a child’s right, don’t rob it’’ and ‘‘Don’t make a child work, don’t spoil his future.’’

As part of the drive, teachers assisted by school development and managing committee members would visit rural households every Monday. Once a child turns up in the classroom, the teacher who has ‘‘adopted’’ the ward would have to ensure that attendance is ‘‘sustained’’. If the initial appeal fails, there will be another round of singing next Monday.

As an incentive, children whose attendance is reasonably satisfactory will get free books, uniforms and midday meals. The government’s alarm at the situation is understandable. Parents of most dropouts are labourers who don’t realise the importance of getting their children educated.

According to the Director of the North East Educational Development Directorate, which is spearheading the campaign in northeast Karnataka, the dropouts in the region’s seven districts constitute 50 per cent of the entire state’s dropouts — 3.36 lakh are from the seven districts of Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur, Koppal, Bellary, Bijapur and Bagalkots out of the total of 6.62 lakh.