Uyarvukku Padi: To give TN students a leg up to higher education

CHENNAI: In the 2023-24 academic year, an alarming 40.5% of children stopped education after Class 12 due to various reasons.

The figures came down in 2024-25, but at 28.5%, it still is quite a high number for a State like TN that has prided itself over the huge strides in education over the recent decades.

Taking note of these numbers and keen to ensure that no child is left behind for want of adequate education, the State government has planned a special drive from next week to bring all of them to college education — or at least skill training.

The programme fittingly titled ‘Uyarvukku Padi’ (loosely translated as study to rise), to be organised under the Nan Mudhalvan scheme of the Special Programme Implementation Department, would be held at the divisional level in all 94 educational divisions across 38 districts, said School Education Department officials.

It would start on September 9 and would go till October 8. Multiple departments and agencies, including School Education, Special Programme Implementation, Social Welfare, Revenue, and Labour departments, employment office, and higher education institutions, have come together to make it a success. The idea behind conducting the Uyarvukku Padi drive, being organised along with Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation (TNSDC), is to motivate higher secondary students to pursue college education.

Explaining the details of the initiative, officials said the focus would be on students who stopped formal education after Class 12, whether it is due to failing in Class 12 board examination, were absent, or passed but did not apply for higher education.

Speaking to DT Next, an Education Department official said, “The department is keen on retaining students in schools, lowering dropouts, and increasing enrolment ratio. But the numbers show that many students are not transitioning from higher secondary to college education.

Hence, such programmes are planned to bring in more students into college education.”

Completing higher education would help the youngsters land better jobs, which in turn would improve their chances of ensuring a better life in terms of key human development indices like health, education, and standard of living, the official added.

CHALLENGING TASK

It is not an easy task. As per the data from the department, of the 3.31 lakh students who cleared Class 12 board examination in the 2023-24 academic year, about 1.97 lakh students have applied for higher education. That leaves 1.34 lakh students — 40.48% — who have either not applied or not provided sufficient details of application.

In the 2022-23 academic year, of the 3.97 lakh Class 12 students, 2.39 lakh enrolled for college education and 45,440 students have applied for higher education. Though that is an appreciable increase in number, it still means about 1.13 lakh — or 28.46% — students have either not pursued higher education or not provided the required details for finishing the enrolment.

That is, in just two academic years, more than 2.47 lakh students have fallen by the wayside instead of pursuing college education. That’s the challenge the Naan Mudhalvan Uyarvukku Padi initiative is aiming to tackle, and over time, reduce.

“This programme aims to provide guidance, support and resources to the students, enabling them to make informed decisions about the future. The respective district Collectors will anchor the programme and also facilitate 100% enrolment of students in colleges or, if reasons so warrant, then for short-term skilling programme as a last resort,” the department said in a notification.

The agenda of the event involves educating the students on the importance of higher education by the respective district sub-collectors, Revenue Divisional Officers and other administrative officers, followed by guiding the students on how to choose a career path by career education experts and bank officials informing the students on bank loans and scholarships to opt college education.

Additionally, departments like the Magalir Thittam, district social welfare department, district child protection unit (DCPU) among others will educate students on schemes and assistance provided by the government.

WHY THEY STAY AWAY

As the first step towards addressing the issue, the School Education Department conducted a survey in 2023 to ascertain the reasons for students not pursuing higher education. It found that the reasons included lack of information on college education, married/planning marriage, entered workforce, parents either unwilling to encourage children for higher education or terminally ill.

Some of the other reasons revealed by the survey were that the child has special needs or health issues, distance constraints, reluctance to go to college, no parents/guardians and inability to afford college expenses, not possessing official documents required for college admission, and not getting the preferred course.

In July 2023, the School Education Department conducted a special admission drive to enrol students who failed to clear classes 10 and 12 board exams to Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) and polytechnic courses to provide skill-oriented training. The department took up the initiative after it found 20,593 students of Class 10 across the State, who were either absent or failed the board exam, did not apply for supplementary exams. In the case of Class 12, there were 39,875 students who did not apply for supplementary exams.

Commenting on the initiative and what more needs to be done, Sultan Ahmed Ismail, an ecologist and an educator for the past 50 years, pointed out, “While children are in school, they do not get the guidance on higher education. Also, many students, specifically first generation learners, are unaware of several aspects, streams and branches in college education available today.”

To address the concern of lack of access to various streams in higher education, Ismail suggests holding programmes for students from Class 9 alongside informing them about the pros and cons of courses.

Furthermore, he pointed out that many students, especially first generation learners are ignorant about how, when and where to apply for colleges. “For higher secondary students, schools must adopt the practice of allowing students to fill mock application forms, both online and in physical form. Also, all schools must have a tie-up with colleges/universities, so that students are exposed to the idea of pursuing college education.”