Bhubaneswar: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has detected student dropout, lack of proper infrastructure, and low pupil-teacher ratio in government-run schools in Odisha.
In its report on school education tabled in the state assembly on Tuesday, the CAG has observed that the objective of universal access to school education was yet to be achieved in Odisha due to the dropout of students at different levels.
The findings were based on a performance audit of 108 government schools in 12 blocks of Bhadrak, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Sambalpur and Sonepur districts from the 2018-19 to 2022-23.
Though there was improvement in infrastructure facilities in government schools, a large number of institutions were still functioning without the prescribed infrastructure, it said.
Teachers, who play a pivotal role in the schooling system, were not available in schools according to norms, hampering the quality of education in government and government-aided schools, the CAG pointed out.
Similarly, the gross enrolment ratio in secondary and higher secondary school levels declined in the state, compared to a rise at the nation
al level, it said.
The CAG also found that the student dropout across the classes (Class-2 to 12) ranged from 3.12 to 7.26 per cent between 2018 and 2023.
It conducted a beneficiary survey at 108 sampled schools in six districts, covering 608 children who left schools at different stages of education during the period.
It was found that 341 of them (56 per cent) dropped out of education, 267 had changed schools, while others left such institutions due to various reasons, including unwilling to study, marriage, earning a livelihood, difficulty in reaching schools, and financial problems.
The auditor noticed that 16,410 children with special needs (CwSN) were eligible for transport and escort allowances during the fove year period from 2018.
However, 380 (2.3 per cent) eligible CwSNs in three sampled districts were deprived of the benefit.
Adverse student-classroom ratio (SCR) was noticed in 5,443 (12 per cent) primary, 5,603 (24 per cent) upper primary, 3,725 (42 per cent) secondary and 681 (57 per cent) higher secondary levels in the state, the report said.
This apart, vocational education was introduced in a limited manner.
Against the target to cover 877 secondary and higher secondary schools for vocational education between 2018 and 2023, the department introduced the course in 646 schools.
The CAG further pointed out that 3.51 lakh eligible students were deprived of the benefit of free uniforms in the state during the five-year period, while 1.73 lakh (6 per cent) students were deprived of bicycle incentives in the state.