NEW DELHI: According to a statement, the early warning system of the Delhi Commission For Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has helped more than 33,000 chronically absent pupils finish their formal education. The early warning system, a partnership between the Delhi government, the DCPCR, and the Directorate of Education (DoE), attempts to save “at-risk” kids and get them back in school. Its core premise is that a student’s significantly low attendance at school is a result of a situational vulnerability that jeopardises the child’s education and well-being, according to the statement.
The system, which was introduced in April 2022, is now operational in all 1,046 Delhi government schools, serving close to 19 lakh pupils. According to the statement, it led to outreach to more than 73,000 chronically absent pupils and helped more than 33,000 kids go back to school and continue their formal education. Sickness (41%) and migration to and from various states permanently and temporarily (25%), as well as students’ families’ ignorance of or denial of absenteeism, are the main causes of absences (11 per cent).
The deaths of parents (almost 200 cases), bullying (nearly 100 cases), child labour (nearly 150 cases), and child marriage were also among the significant cases that were found. Nearly 6,841 kids, mostly teenage boys, were discovered skipping school because their parents denied them being gone even though attendance records showed they were regularly absent. Due to DCPCR intervention, the majority of them are now routinely attending school, it claimed.
Anurag Kundu, chair of the DCPCR, commented on the project by saying, “DCPCR works exclusively to promote and preserve child rights in Delhi. In comparison to the UK, where chronic absenteeism is also close to 20% and there is no such tracking system, Delhi’s student attendance tracking and intervention system has significantly improved thanks to the Early Warning System. According to the statement, since children from socioeconomically disadvantaged groups frequently attend government schools, they are especially vulnerable to dangers that could endanger their lives, to being taken advantage of by strangers, and to having their wellbeing compromised. This contributes to a widespread issue in India of high school absenteeism.
In order to improve children’s wellbeing and help them resume their education, the initiative makes use of the education department’s online attendance marking system to identify students who are at danger of dropping out and to initiate a number of preventive and corrective actions. These interventions include calls to the helpline and SMS or IVR nudges to the parents. Nudges can be very effective in modifying citizens’ behaviours, according to numerous research, the report concluded.
The DCPCR helpline contacts these families to learn the causes of their children’s absences from school, offer them the support they require, and give them advice on the value of punctual attendance. All high-risk situations, including those involving abuse, human trafficking, child marriage, child labour, and medical emergencies, are immediately forwarded to the DCPCR’s grievance management teams for issue resolution before being forwarded to the appropriate departments or authorities. Within 24 hours after receiving the complaint, SOS situations are handled, it was added.
