Date:16/10/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/10/16/stories/2007101657520500.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Techies to lure school dropouts

M. Raghuram

Karnataka has 10.53 lakh school dropouts in the age group of six to 14 years
Raichur district has the highest number of
1.16 lakh children

BANGALORE: The silicon city of India, which has basked in the success of IT professionals, has one more reason to be proud of them. A motley group of 25 IT professionals have formed a ‘Dare2dream’ team with one agenda – to get school drop-outs back to school.

The Dare2dream, which was formed in August, has begun spreading the message of the importance of sustaining the interest of children (six to 14-year age group) to go to school, and to bring back to school those who have abandoned learning for want of money.

The philosophy of the team is ‘no child should be deprived of learning for lack of money’. Convenor of the team Uma Guruswamy told The Hindu that they were alarmed at the increase of school drop-outs each year, mostly because they could not afford school fees and stationery. This, she felt, was a cause for concern for the society. These little children are capable of learning but the inability of parents has come between them and education. And if they continue to stay out of school they might one day be sucked into a vortex controlled by bad elements, she said. Quoting the 2001 census Ms. Uma said: “We intend to work closely with the Government and civil society organisations on issues related to child welfare.”

The 2001 census put the figure of school dropouts in Karnataka at 10.53 lakh in the age group of six to 14 years. Raichur district has the highest number of school dropouts: of 4.37 lakh in that age group, 1.16 lakh children were out of school, followed by Gulbarga district where of a population of 7.22 lakh, 1.85 lakh children were out of school. In Udupi, out of 1.8 lakh children, 2,060 children were out of school. In Dakshina Kannada district, out of 2.95 lakh children in that age group, 5,752 children did not attend school. The Dare2dream team has devised a ‘one percent theme’ in which donors will set aside one percent of their income every month for paying the fees or arranging for a scholarship through sponsorship.