1500 Gujjar-Bakarwal OOSC took admission in government schools of Kishtwar.
Once grappling with the high number of out of school children (OOSC), the success of the first phase of the Back to School initiative has played a significant role in increasing the literacy rate among the Scheduled Tribe community in Kishtwar district. In 2021, a survey conducted by Samagra Shiksha Jammu and Kashmir identified thousands of OOSCs in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, including 2,469 people in Kishtwar district, the highest number in Jammu division. Since the problem demanded immediate attention, District Administration Kishtwar took proactive steps to bring all OOSCs back to school. In December 2022, verification of 2469 out-of-school children (OoSC) revealed that about 1600 students in the age group of 6-14 years were not attending school. The Gujjar and Bakarwal populations were more vulnerable to low enrollment due to comparatively poor socio-economic conditions, migratory nature, dependence on livestock and less emphasis on higher education due to early marriage etc. To enroll these students, the Back to School initiative was launched. A 3-month bridge course started with the help of DIET Kishtwar in January 2023 prepared these students to join schools. After the completion of the bridge course, admissions were made to various government schools for 1376 out-of-school students, 95 per cent of whom belonged to the ST Gujjar and Bakarwal population. Additionally, school management committees were reconstituted with the support of the NGO India Education Collective. For the reconstituted committees, parents took the role of chairpersons and became active partners with the education department for school improvement. A visible result of these active school management committees was the “My School My Pride” campaign, a bottom-up initiative that ended on 26 January. The School Education Department under the leadership of CEO Prahlad Bhagat played an active role and initiated commendable incentives for out-of-school children, including additional Dhok seasonal centres, winter ST centres, scholarships and regional level libraries in schools. Overall, due to the Back to School initiative, key indicators have improved in Kishtwar district. The gross enrollment ratio has increased from 89% to 97.49%, while the school dropout rate has decreased from 11% to 2.5 percent. With an improved infection rate of 98%, the total number of students not attending school in the district has come down from 1600 to only 57. Since Gujjars and Bakarwals are nomadic groups, the number of seasonal units increased from 79 to 121 in 2023. Additionally, 80 new winter ST centers were opened, and a stipend of Rs 500 is provided to each ST student as an incentive. In Back to School 2.0, an additional 200 OOSCs have been identified for enrollment in schools in January 2024 for 100 per cent saturation.
