Here is a reality check. In the crucial education indicator, Odisha tops the country by virtue of having the maximum proportion of out-of-school children in the age-group of 6-14 years.
A national high of over 6 per cent children in the age-group of 6-14 years in Odisha were not enrolled in any formal school education system, finds the 2014 IMRB survey.
Even, the other poorest BIMARU (Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh) States together have an average of only around 4 per cent children (6-14yrs) without schooling. Even, Bihar produced a better show with only around 5 per cent out-of-school children in the 6-14 years age-group.
Numerically, however, Odisha has over 4 lakh children not enrolled in any school in 2014 from mere over 3.3 lakh in 2005, reveals the survey.
Moreover, in a pointer to State’s low per capita income, the revelation is the last decade has seen a rise in out-of-school children among the boys than the girls. Social watchers link the fall in number of girls without schooling in the State to the host of incentives provisioned by both the State and the Centre, whereas the rise in out-of-school boys to the imperative of addressing family income.
But the big shocker for the State is out-of-school children among Dalits in almost last one decade (2005-14) have ballooned by over three times.
Gender wise, when boys without schooling in the State posted a modest rise of over 1,248, girls displayed a significant drop by over 35, 750 between 2009 and 2014.
looking demographically, however, brings to fore the devil as the survey found near tripling in the number of SC children without schooling in the State over the same period to over 1.09 lakh from mere around 37,167 in 2009. In contrast, the number of out-of-school children among STs dropped to around 2.16lakh from over 3.07 lakh in 2009. Similarly, in others, including OBCs, the number shrunk to around 75,000 from over 85, 700 in 2009. However, religion wise, Muslims in Odisha posted a modest rise of over 2,100 to the out- of- school children numbering around 5,200 in 2009.
A look at the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) further brings to the fore the real story of how Dalits in Odisha are deprived of education in the State.
Consider this. When the GER of SCs in secondary schools in Odisha in 2014-15 was over 80 per cent vis-a-vis mere around 77 per cent for all categories, the GER of SC took a colossal plunge to mere 0.92 per cent in the higher secondary (+ 2) in 2014-15 vis-a-vis the national average of 54 per cent. And, Odisha figured last among the 36 States and Union Territories in the country. Even, BIMARU States have finished with an average GER of around 57 per cent with only Bihar finishing the last with around 28 per cent GER in higher secondary.