Chapter 4: Enrolments Retention & Drop outs

4.1 Sources of Enrolment figures

c Detailed current information on student enrolment at all school levels was received from 55 CTSA, TCV/THF and other schools and therefore this report is unable to give precise current enrolment and retention figures in all our schools. What is presented under these two areas is a trend for a period of 10 years (1988-1997) for enrolment patterns among different school systems and five years for retention figures (1993-1998).

Studying the trends in the available schools, enrolment in those schools levels having the maximum number of students; primary and middle levels, peaked around 1994-95. Although, the upward climb in enrolment stopped after 1995, the drop is not sharp. So, the 1994 IDP II Survey figures are presented with the assumption that current figures will not be very different.

4.2 Enrolement of students in different school levels (1994)

4.3 Total enrolment percent of Tibetan children in schools (1994)

According to the second IDP survey (1994), about 25 percent or 30,000 of the total refugee population in India, Nepal and Bhutan were of the school age (6-17). The school enrolment of 27,585 student included 4,442 children below the age of 6 and about 2,300 non Tibetan student between class I and 12. According to a study conducted by the DOE in 1995-96, it is estimated, therefore, that about 70 percent of the school-age (6-17 years old) Tibetans in exile receive education within the Tibetan school network. About 3,000 Tibetan students attend non - Tibetan schools either out of choice or because of scarcity in vacancy in the existing Tibetan schools. A substantial portion of the 20 percent school Tibetans who are not covered by the Tibetan schools network or the non-Tibetan schools may be enrolled in various Tibetan monastic institutions.

The IDP II survey, however, presents a slightly different picture about the total enrolment of school age children. It says, " Based on the survey for the second IDP, about 25 percent or 30,000 of the total Tibetan refugee population in India, Nepal and Bhutan were of school age (5-17). According to data from DOE there are about 27,000 Tibetan children attending Tibetan schools. However, these enrolment figures include many of the over 4,000 new refugee children who have been admitted to residential schools in the past few years. Thus the enrolment rate of children in Tibetan schools is likely to be almost 80 percent.

However, the latest census conducted in 1998/1999 by the Department of Education itself , which although representative only, shows a figure of 88 % school enrolment in the Tibetan community. The above percentage represents the percent of Tibetan children of school age (6-17) currently enrolled in schools.

4.4 Enrolment trends in CTSA and other schools at different school levels 1988-1997*

The following enrolment trends are based on the enrolment figures available from 55 CTSA and other schools. Most of the students enrolled in these schools are from among the refugee community while the enrolment of the TCV and THF schools are studied separately because they comprise a high percentage of fresh arrivals from Tibet. Finally, cumulative enrolment trends in all the school categories are presented to have an overall view of enrolment.

The enrolment trends for the STSA/SLF run and CTSA schools indicate that the growth of enrolment peaked around 94-96. For instance, enrolment at the pre-primary level was maximum in 1994 and has in-fact declined by 23.3% in 1996 and 1997.

4.5 Participation rate at various school levels*

To determine the current participation rate at the different school levels and higher studies in the Tibetan community, the Department of Education collected statistical data of Tibetans between the age group 4 to 25 residing in the various settlements and cluster communities in India, Nepal and Bhutan.

The study showed an increase in participation at the primary level of 97% in comparison to the pre-primary stage of 86 % which indicates that about 14% of children do not attend pre-school education. From Middle school to secondary school level, there is high participation where as it drops down considerably at the senior secondary level. Two out of five youth of the college age attended higher institutions/college. Significantly enough, the participation rates for girls were much higher than the boys at most levels.

* The participation rate does not include recently arrived refugee children who were born in Tibet and who are attending TCV and THF schools as they do not come under any settlement/cluster areas.

Age	School level	Male %	Female %	Total %
4-5	(pre-primary)	86	86	86
6-10	(primary)	98	96	97
11-13	(middle)	82	98	90
14-15	(secondary)	90	90	90
15-17	(senior secondary)	69	83	76
18-25	(college*/vocational)	38	42	40

* College - it is indicative of all further studies including vocational & certificate programs

4.6 Placement of school drop outs at class VIII & X

There is a cell called Tibetan Employment and Placement Bureau(TEPB) under the D.O.E. at New Delhi. This cell tries to address the needs of educated as well as uneducated Tibetan children who have dropped out of school. TEPB helps them when they are old enough to be enlisted in any kind of vocational training or any job placement available within or outside the Tibetan community.

Tibetan Children's Village has a separate Handicraft Center where drop outs have access to professional training from where they can move on with their lives.

Tibetan Homes Foundation at Mussoorie also provides extensive training in handicrafts including Thangka Painting and Tailoring for school dropouts.

Norbulingka Institute at Dharamsala also provides extensive vocational training in various vocational activities which can help the students being trained as skilled laborers in the society.

4.7. Sources of Retention figures

The graphic presentations of retention rates are computed from the enrolment figures of 55 schools - most of which were CTSA and STSA/SLF run schools. For details of how retention figures were computed, please refer to Appendix I. The retention rates for TCV and THF schools could not be computed from the available enrolment trends in those schools as a large percentage of their students are recent arrivals from Tibet who are directly admitted at various grade levels through out the school year. Such admissions at different school levels mask the drop outs when we attempt to mathematically compute them. In fact, the effort to chart cumulative retention rates at various levels for both the CTSA/STSA run schools and the TCV/THF combine was aborted, because the new admissions of fresh arrivals from Tibet included in the enrolment figures distorted other drop out figures.

At the primary school level, the enrolment figures suggest that there is little or no drop outs at all. In many years, the number of students actually increased over succeeding years, which of course does not suggest that no drop outs took place, but certainly very less - lesser than the new admissions.

The drop out rates become noticeable from the middle school level and as we'll see later, be a real cause for concern at the secondary level.

4.8 Causes of drop outs

According to the DOE opinion survey 1997-98, the following were the main causes of drop outs in Tibetan schools suggested by the teachers. The numbers in parenthesis indicate the number of teachers who gave that suggestions:-

1. Prevailing environment of our society (29)
2. Lack of guidance (26)
3. Financial problems (24)
4. Do not consider education to be important enough (22)
5. Over age
6. Temptation for money (14)
7. Personal problems (14)
8. Lack of career counselor (14)
9. Interest in other branches of education like drawing, music etc. (14)
10. Fascination for films and outer world (2)
11. Lack of job security in Tibetan society (12)
12. High handedness of teachers (12)
13. Rigid and excessive syllabus (8)
14. Influence of their peer groups (8)
15. Repeated failure in spite of efforts (7)
16. Lack of cooperation among teachers, parents, staff and students (6)
17. Fear of punishment (5)
18. Lack of intelligence (5)
19. Fashion conscious (4)
20. Favoritism by the teachers
21. Sickness (3)
22. Lack of care and concern (3)
23. Lack of Dharma knowledge (2)
24. Music awareness (2)
25. Remoteness and low exposure to the world (2)

[ Back ] [ Next ]  [ Top ]