Guwahati, June 12: In a recent update, Ranoj Pegu, the Cabinet Minister for Higher Education, School Education, and Tribal Affairs, revealed that Assam’s total student enrolment for the academic year 2022-23 has declined to 70,95,759.
This figure represents a decrease of 4,49,197 students compared to the previous year’s enrolment of 75,44,956. Minister Pegu emphasized that the decline is not attributed to dropouts but is influenced by various specific reasons, as detailed below.
The reasons contributing to the decline in enrolment figures are multifaceted and encompass several factors. Firstly, a notable number of students opted for admission in private schools that were not registered in the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE). This phenomenon resulted in their exclusion from the official enrolment statistics.
Another significant factor leading to the decline was the process of cleaning duplicate enrolment entries from the database. The removal of redundant entries aimed to ensure accurate and reliable data representation. Similarly, efforts were made to eliminate fake enrolments, further refining the enrolment figures.
Migration of students from one location to another without proper removal of their records from the earlier database also contributed to the decline. Additionally, students below the age of five who had enrolled in the Ka-Sreni category were removed from the database, aligning with the age criteria for enrolment.
Efforts were also made to address the issue of long absentee students by removing them from the enrolment database. This step aimed to accurately reflect the active student population. Moreover, discrepancies in reporting by certain schools on the UDISE portal for the 2021-22 academic year were identified and considered as a contributing factor to the decline in enrolment figures.
Minister Pegu’s explanation sheds light on the intricacies involved in assessing student enrolment figures in Assam for the current academic year. It is important to recognize that the decline is not solely indicative of dropouts but is influenced by a combination of factors, including students opting for unregistered private schools, data cleansing measures, removal of fake enrolments, migration, age-related criteria, removal of absentee students, and reporting discrepancies.
Additionally, the detailed analysis of the enrolment figures in Assam revealed specific trends across different categories of schools. The, government and provincialised schools experienced the least decline of only 2.44%, reflecting a relatively smaller decrease compared to other categories.
On the other hand, ventures encompassing schools other than government, provincialised, and private, faced a substantial decline of 16.15% in student enrolment, indicating a broader impact across various educational institutions in Assam.
Furthermore, the management schools witnessed a decline of 5.95%, and private schools, observed a significant decline of 12.07% in student enrolment. This decrease in private school enrolment suggests a shift in student preferences towards other schooling options.
As the government continues to monitor and address these issues, the accurate representation of student enrolment figures remains vital for effective policymaking and resource allocation in the education sector.
