Mysuru: Despite several govt initiatives aimed at ensuring access to free education and hostel facilities, the dropout rate among scheduled tribe (ST) students pursuing higher education in Mysuru district has risen significantly.According to the latest data, 3,434 ST students have enrolled in various degree courses at govt first grade colleges in Mysuru district. Of them, 602 discontinued their studies, resulting in a dropout rate of nearly 17.5%. Girls accounted for a larger share of the dropouts, with 348 of the 602 students being female.The figures, furnished by ST welfare minister T Raghumurthy in response to a question by MLC K Abdul Jabbar, also point to dropouts at the school level. A total of 62 ST children discontinued their education in primary and secondary schools in Mysuru district.The trend is evident in Chamarajanagar district as well, where 101 ST students, including 38 girls, dropped out, while Kodagu recorded 60 dropouts among degree students, of whom 33 were girls.DC Nanjunda, associate professor at the centre for the study of social exclusion and inclusive policy, University of Mysore, said the figures only partly reflect the scale of the problem. “There are several reasons for school and college dropouts. Among ST communities, very few tribal children progress to govt degree colleges. It is mainly students from the Nayaka community who pursue higher education. A majority of forest-based tribal children drop out much earlier, often at the primary school level itself,” he said.“The real challenge is bringing children into the education system and retaining them. In tribal hamlets, the absence of an academic environment, coupled with social prejudices and other difficulties, often results in children discontinuing education after reaching adolescence. The seriousness of the issue is far greater than what available data suggests,” he added.
