Back to school against all odds

Reena Patra, a Class X passout from a Government school in Odisha, had to drop out of school early after the demise of her father. Her studies took a backseat and the pressure to support the family, including her younger brother, grew. Two years ago, she was called by the school’s headmaster and asked to rejoin. 

She was provided a financial incentive by the the Odisha Government for completing Classes IX and X under the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for SC & ST students. This scheme has gone a long way in increasing retention of school students and encouraging drop outs to join back.In September 2012, the Ministries of Tribal Affairs and Social Justice and Empowerment launched a Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme (effective July 2012) for ST/SC children. This scheme aimed at improving the transition of students from Class IX to Class X in all schools including Government, Government-aided and private recognised schools. It emphasised on active participation of students and progression to post-matric stage. 

“I never thought I would  complete my education. But this scheme has made it possible. I have put the scholarship amount to good use and looking at this, my younger brother and other students in my village have enrolled themselves in school. A bank account was opened and every month, the money was transferred to me directly,” Patra says. 

The project is the consortium of three main technical assistance organisations — IPE Global, a consulting firm offering a range of integrated, innovative and high quality services to international agencies, donors and Governments across various sectors and practices; India Development Foundation (IDF) is an independent research organisation and Mastek is a public limited company and a high-end provider of vertically-focused enterprise technology solutions. To complement and enhance the impact of the Central Government’s scholarship scheme, the Department for International Development (DFID) is supporting  the implementation of the scheme in the State. 

The programme led to the increase in enrollment rate from 83 per cent in 2013 to 91 per cent in 2014. The attendance rates improved from 74 per cent in 2013 to 80.1 per cent in 2014. The grade 10 pass rate for SC and ST girls and boys increased from 71 per cent in 2012-13 to 77 per cent in 2013-14. About 1391 dropouts were brought back in 2013-14 and about 1560 dropouts were brought back in 2014-15.

The main criteria for selecting the students for this scheme is that all ST and SC boys and girls in Class IX and Class X whose parent or guardian’s income does not exceed `2 lakhs per annum are eligible. The scholarship ranges from `2,250 to Rs5, 450 per annum and is divided into two parts — one time ad-hoc grant for books etc, and a bulk scholarship which is payable for 10 months in an academic year.

“There is no income cap for the SC and ST day scholars to avail the scholarship. Payment of monthly scholarship is subject to attainment of a monthly attendance rate of 70 per cent of the number of working days per month,” Ashish Mukherjee, project team leader, IPE Glopal, tells you.The project which initiated its pilot in Rayagada, is now covering 30 districts of office. A learning hub pilot was set-up across 102 schools in Koraput and Mayurbhanj districts. There was Pre-vocational skills training programme in 12 schools across six districts including.

 “The implementation process started with awareness generation. We  facilitated bank account opening and caste certificate along with designing the IT system and developing the database of  beneficiaries. The attendance data is compiled at the schools and sent it to the DEO. We also do community mobilisation and follow-up and there is grievance redress cell. We also monitor and evaluate if the system is effectively working,” Mukherjee explains.

The implementation of the module by IPE Global, DFID and other partner organisations helped in the establishment of a smooth system for disbursing high volume of scholarships. They developed a complete database of beneficiaries and system strengthening for efficient planning and targeting. This eliminated leakages and reduction in delay in disbursement of the incentive.