Children out of schools: Status of tribal children in Madhya Pradesh

Dropout is a serious threat that troubles the primary education system in India. The issue has been studied in India and other developing countries over the past 65 years. School dropouts arise from an accumulation of various risk factors throughout children's schooling. There is no single reason why students drop out of primary school. Official figures indicate that around 30 percent children leave the school drop out before completing even five years of schooling and overall around 50 percent children leave schools without completing the 8 years compulsory schooling period. The states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh are amongst the states with the largest percentage of children not attending schools both in 1991 and 2001. There are some common reasons behind the increased rate of dropout: poverty and poor income, limited to access to credit, child labour, and children's and parents’ lack of interest in education, negative school climate, lack of community support and so. However, structural inequalities remain as a hidden reason behind dropout in rural and tribal communities in India. In tribal communities, poverty, ignorance, superstition, cultural constraints and gender bias that obstruct schooling. The present study examines the dropout among tribal children from primary schools of Madhya Pradesh. This paper highlights, it is necessary to improve the educational access and reduce the dropout in tribal populated areas in India.