Dear Editor, I would like to express my deep concern regarding above cited subject through the medium of yours esteemed daily newspaper for J&K UT students and people for kind consideration. Enrollment drives, a decisive step undertaken by education department from last several years has a rejuvenating impact over the Government-run schools across UT of JK. Due to die hard efforts of Director School Jammu and Kashmir, new admissions have been done including thousands of transferred students from different private institutions and the process is still ongoing with much intensity with the mass participation of Directors School Education, J&K, CEOs, Principals, ZEOs, DRGs, ZRGs and teaching fraternity. Enrollment drives seem to be a much wider concept derived mainly to enhance student roll, to register different drops out students, to mainstream ‘Out of School Children’, to create awareness about NEP 2020 & RTE etc. However it has other far reaching advantages and is a public outreach program to aware and mobilizes public at large. Besides, it appraises masses about different facilities being offered in govt. institutions in current scenario. It obliterates mistrust between Govt and public and bridges the gap between parents and teachers. Indeed this campaign is very exigent for ‘Out of School Children’ – those who have never attended school due to umpteen reasons including poverty, inaccessibility of educational institutions, illness, different disabilities, working at domestic level and several other issues. COVID-19 further worsened the graph across the globe. Many school drop-outs are mainly employed as child labors working in very arduous tasks across the country. Who knows what is happening with them? Under what circumstances they might be living, what they think about education? If they seriously wish to get education, then they too are our kith and kins and tomorrow’s future. Who knows among them are miracles hidden which need special focus to locate. Enrollment drives has serious challenge to mainstream said OSC and Dropout lot into school fold. The RTE (2009) grants free and compulsory education to all age group of (6-14). There lies huge onus on part of Government, Education Department and teachers working down the line to undertake serious measures to bring all OSC back to school curriculum. This is not easy but not difficult. Education Department has already taken several initiatives like TALASH for identification and mainstreaming the Out of School Children at large scale. Here an Enrollment drive has a lot to offer which link you to people of diverse thoughts. This door to door initiative is the real locator of these OSC and Dropouts students. I being one of the participants of this mission felt delighted to jot down the episode of students at one remotest village of Namblinar Tangmarg. It was astounding movement for all of us to enroll such students there, a joy over their faces was extremely enough that the whole environment was filled with blessing and peace. A fondle to them was worth watching. OSC are really a challenge for all of us. These children are actually a lot excluded from teaching learning process. This is the poorest section needed to be guided. They need special attention, love and sympathy. A lot has been done but there is still much work to be done. Enrollment drives can do this job and the best way to streamline a process by building a balance & educated society by implementing basic laws of education. So let’s take a pledge to enroll last child and to make change in their lives. Last but not least every teaching community should kept in mind following important line. ‘Let’s remember: one book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world.’ Mool Raj, Doda.
