Naxal-hit Bijapur's big challenge: Getting 9,650 children back to school

Indian Express

12 hours ago

Chhattisgarh's Bijapur, the worst-affected Naxal district in India, faces a daunting task — bringing nearly 10,000 children back to school.
A survey conducted by the district administration in May threw up concerning figures: 9,650 children in the district are not enrolled in a school — 79% (7,604) have never set foot in one, while the remaining 21% (2,046) dropped out.
A majority of them are in the 9 to 14 age group. Further, more girls than boys have not been to school, while more boys dropped out.
It also recorded why children dropped out: mainly for 'domestic reasons such as taking animals for grazing and looking after their younger brothers and sisters, sickness, and fear of studies'. 'This shows it is not children's personal choice to not study but a result of social and family pressure,' noted the survey.
The case of Jyoti Hemla, one of the 31 Maoists killed in February in Bijapur's Indravati National Park, also highlights how several Maoists had dropped out of school.
As reported by The Indian Express in April, Jyoti had dropped out of her porta cabin school in Class 3 to help her parents with household work and to collect forest produce. She joined the Maoists in 2021 at the age of 16. Jyoti's friend had said she told her she missed going to school when she met her in 2023.
Data with the police reveals that of the 185 Maoists killed in encounters in Bijapur between January 2024 and July 26 this year, 153 of them either never went to school or dropped out before primary school. The rest had studied up to middle school and beyond.
'This exposes a deliberate and exploitative strategy by the Maoist leadership — to keep their grassroots cadres illiterate and uninformed, making them easier to control…,' said Inspector General of Police for Bastar Range, Sundarraj P.
The IG said in the 1990s and early 2000s, Maoists destroyed over 217 schools, including residential education facilities, in the Bastar region — most of these schools were in Bijapur.
'It… was aimed at isolating tribal youth, cutting them off from access to the outside world, and subjecting them to coerced recruitment through false propaganda about jal-jungle-zameen (water, forest and land),' added Sundarraj.
Government records from 2021 show Bijapur had a primary school dropout rate of 11.2% — the highest among the seven districts in the Naxal-affected Bastar — followed by Sukma (10.6%), Dantewada (9.3%), and Narayanpur (9.2%). Data from previous years was unavailable.
Taking note of the alarming dropout rates, Bijapur district collector Sambit Mishra launched the survey to determine how many children were out of school.
It covered all 52,000 families in Bijapur spread across 6,562 sq km, an area larger than Goa. The district has 98,090 students, including 4,508 from private schools, enrolled in anganwadis till Class 12.
-Among those who never went to school, girls account for 53%, 'which shows they are unable to get admission'.
-Among school dropouts, boys account for a higher share at 59%, with dropout rates rising after Class 7.
-Another analysis found dropout rates were also higher among students in Classes 2, 3, 5, and 6. 'This shows that the quality of education and the support system are weak, due to which children are not able to survive in school,' the survey stated.
-In Class 12, the dropout percentage of boys is 89%. Among girls, it's low as most either leave school earlier or never take admission.
-Two development blocks in Bijapur — Bhairamgarh (2,683 children never went to school and 701 left school) and Usur (2,396 never went to school and 711 dropped out) — fared worse.
'These blocks are deep in the forest, making it difficult to ensure the availability of teachers and adequate schools,' said an official involved in the survey.
When asked about Naxal recruitment in these blocks, a senior police source from Bijapur said, 'The security vacuum in Indravati National Park and the northern area above Indravati river, which are parts of Bhairamgarh, is still a concern. The Chetna Natya Mandali (cultural wing of the Maoists) still tries to recruit minors. In Usur we have nearly fixed the security vacuum.'
-The situation is also concerning for children with special needs (CWSN). Of the 204 CWSN out of school, 179 — or 88% — have never attended. The highest numbers are in Usur (81) and Bhairamgarh (75). Many dropped out after the age of 14, highlighting the difficulties they face in continuing their education as both grade level and age increase.
On the steps being taken to get these children back to school, Mishra said, 'We have developed a multi-layered strategy to reintegrate them into the education system, tailored as per their age, previous learning exposure, and current circumstances. We are aiming for 100% enrollment of all 9,650 identified children in this academic year.'
For children up to the age of 5, the aim is to ensure they are enrolled in anganwadis.
For those aged between 6 and 8 years, the focus will be on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) assessments. Their progress will be closely monitored, and additional teachers and community support will be provided to prevent early dropouts, said Mishra.
For the 9-14 age group, the administration will send them to the nearest porta cabin schools, which will act as 'bridge course centres'. Instructors will provide a bridge curriculum with periodic assessment, followed by gradual integration into age-appropriate grades in formal schools based on their readiness.
For those above 14 years, a community-based vocational and functional literacy programme is being developed. Access to education will also be provided through open schooling via the National Institute of Open Schooling or similar platforms, he added.
The survey began on May 8 and was completed by May 20, except in a few gram panchayats, where it concluded by May 30. It was conducted by a team comprising members of women's Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Anganwadi workers, Shiksha Doot (part-time teachers), and Cluster Academic Coordinators (CACs). They underwent a three-day training from May 2-5, with support from NGO Shiksharth Trust.