New Delhi, March 14
Concerned at the dropout rate in schools, the Centre today said it was considering punishment for parents who prevent their children from going to primary schools.
Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat asked the Minister of State for Human Resource Development F.A.A. Fatmi whether the government had taken measures to prevent dropouts in schools.
The minister said among other measures, the government was considering to implement recommendations of an expert committee to provide punishment for parents who do not allow their children to go to schools.
He said as per statistics for 2002-03, the dropout rate for classes I-VIII was about 53 per cent for girl child and 52 per cent for boys.
The dropout for children in classes I to V was above 30 per cent. He said the government was planning the opening of 750-residential Kasturba BalikaVidyalayas all over the country.
The minister said under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the government aimed at completely preventing dropouts between Class I and V by 2007 and between Class I and VIII by 2010.
Replying to another question, the minister said private universities established in Chhattisgarh had ceased to exist as a result of the Supreme Court's judgement of February 11.
He said the UGC has also been requested to examine the judgement and its implications, particularly for the bonafide students enrolled with with these private universities.
Mr Fatmi said the Ministry of Human Resource Development has constituted a committee of experts to examine all relevant issues pertaining to entry of foreign universities in India.
He said proposal to set up a national commission on education was being considered by the Centre.
Replying to another question, he said the ratio of graduates in technical education to overall population was less in India compared to that in developed countries. The number of engineering degree colleges (as on December 1, 2004) approved by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) was 1,355 with sanctioned annual intake of about 4.59 lakh, he said.
