Volume 7 : Issue 2 (2020)

Documenting The Lives of out-of-School Adolescents – A Study From Surat City Slums

Education is the fundamental requirement for human development, broadening of employment opportunities and the progress of a nation. However, school dropout has remained a consistent phenomenon of education system in India. In urban areas, the adolescents from slum areas are more likely to drop out of school. Failure to complete high school not only produces negative outcome for the individuals but also widens the existing social and economic inequalities. This paper contributes to the understanding of lives of “out of school” urban adolescent boys and girls. The socio-demographic profile of out-of-school adolescents throws light on “who are they.” The field based cross-sectional study was conducted among the drop out adolescents (age group-10-18 years old, n=76) from urban slums, Udhana Zone, Surat city. The study was conducted with semi structured interview schedule. The quantitative and qualitative analysis directs various insights for improving the efficiency of education system, the educational planners need to understand and identify the social groups that are more susceptible to dropout and the reasons for their dropping out. The programme strategies should be designed taking into account the rural and urban differences for a successful implementation of multiple education and skill development schemes. More community-based studies are required to have an insight into the profile of students who drop out from schools, so that efforts can be directed to reduce their vulnerabilities and plan integrated interventions for them.

Adolescents, Out of school, School Dropout, Surat city,Urban poor.

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