Over 11.7 lakh out-of-school children identified nationwide, Uttar Pradesh tops the list

NEW DELHI: Over 11.70 lakh children have been identified as out-of-school across the country, with Uttar Pradesh accounting for the highest number, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.

Union Minister of State for Education, Jayant Chaudhary, provided the data in response to a written question in the Lower House.

Highlighting the mechanism for tracking out-of-school children, Chaudhary stated, "The Ministry of Education's Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSE&L) maintains the PRABANDH (Project Appraisal, Budgeting, Achievements, and Data Handling System) portal, where states and Union Territories provide and update data related to Out-of-School Children (OoSC)."

According to the statistics shared, a total of 11,70,404 children are currently identified as out-of-school across the country. Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number, with 7.84 lakh children out of school. This was followed by Jharkhand, with over 65,000 out-of-school children, and Assam, with more than 63,000.

The report underscores the ongoing challenges in ensuring universal access to education, despite numerous initiatives under government schemes like the Right to Education (RTE) Act. The Ministry emphasized its commitment to addressing these gaps through targeted interventions and collaboration with state governments.

Efforts to reintegrate these children into the education system are being closely monitored, Chaudhary assured, as the government seeks to achieve its goal of inclusive education for all.
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