Lakhs of kids unaccounted for on Maharashtra govt student portal

The state government is pushing to reduce school dropout numbers. Representational pic

Despite the Maharashtra government's ongoing ‘Mission Zero Drop Out' drive, teachers' groups claim that as many as 9.75 lakh students remain unaccounted for on the Department of Education's official student portal. This finding contradicts the department's annual out-of-school children (OoSC) campaign, which typically reports only a negligible number of dropouts.

According to data from the education department's student portal, nearly 9,75,000 names are listed under the so-called ‘drop box' - a system meant to identify students who have been absent for more than three consecutive months. Thane and Pune districts reportedly top the OoSC chart.

"In an ideal system, the total student enrollment should remain the same or even increase when students progress from one grade to the next," explained a senior official from the education department, on condition of anonymity. "Whenever there is a decline, our teams launch ‘Mission Drop Box' to find out where the missing students have gone… whether they have shifted schools or moved to other districts."

However, teachers across the state argue that it is nearly impossible to bring the drop box countdown to zero. They say the department's directive, to ensure no names remain in the drop box, is unrealistic due to practical challenges like seasonal migration, lengthy transfer procedures, or incomplete documentation.

"When a student transfers from one school to another, the new school must request a transfer certificate from the old school," explains Mahendra Ganpule, former president, Headmasters' Association. "Until the transfer is completed and approved, the student should not be listed as a dropout. Alternatively, schools should be allowed to remove students from the drop box after a certain period if they have not re-enrolled."

Sanjay Patil, from the Secondary and Higher Secondary School Principals' Association in Mumbai, adds: "Zeroing out the drop box is extremely difficult without a comprehensive plan. Students who migrate or join alternative education programs or vocational courses remain untracked on the portal. Until they are formally admitted to another school, they show up as dropouts. So we really do not know if these students have dropped out and migrated or have enrolled for alternative educational programs."

Critics within the teaching community say it is alarming that the Department of Education itself lacks accurate information on these students. Many believe better record-sharing between schools, and a more flexible policy for removing names from the drop box, would resolve most of the discrepancies.

For now, the push to reduce dropouts continues, with education officials insisting that bringing the drop box figure closer to zero is essential for ensuring every child's right to education. But teachers warn that without a viable, long-term solution, the drop box could remain filled with the names of students whose future schooling status remains uncertain.

When contacted for clarification, Saroj Jagtap, assistant director of the Samagra Shikshan Abhiyan, Government of Maharashtra, said, "Yes, these figures appear high, but they do not necessarily represent the actual number of dropouts. We are in the process of updating and reorganising the portal."