Gujarat’s Child Tracking System Reintegrates 90,000+ Dropout Students

Gujarat: Child Tracking System brings more than 90,000 school dropout children back into the education system

Gandhinagar, June 25

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday launched the statewide 24th edition of the Shala Praveshotsav programme from B.N. High School, Vadnagar. Due to the continuous implementation of the Shala Praveshotsav programme for the past 23 years, awareness regarding education has increased across the state, resulting in a significant decline in the school dropout ratio among students studying in primary schools.

Under the leadership of the CM, the Gujarat Government has set a target of reducing the school dropout ratio to nearly zero per cent at the primary, secondary and higher education levels.

To achieve this goal, the Education Department of the Gujarat Government is effectively leveraging advanced technology. The Education Department has implemented an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based Early Warning System (EWS) at the Vidya Samiksha Kendra in Gandhinagar to prevent school dropouts. This system identifies children who are at risk of leaving school early.

Last year, through the EWS, 1,67,446 children who were at risk of dropping out were prevented from leaving school. In addition, with the help of the Education Department's Child Tracking System, approximately 90,212 children who had dropped out of school were brought back into the education system.

The Gujarat Government is ensuring that children complete their full course of schooling and that the school dropout ratio reaches zero.

The AI-based Early Warning System (EWS), developed with a completely scientific approach, is an innovative initiative that predicts the likelihood of dropout among every student studying in primary schools (Classes 1 to 8) by analysing data such as student records (age, gender, disability, etc.), academic performance, attendance and assessment records. The system also generates alerts to facilitate timely intervention and preventive action.

Using algorithms to identify patterns in data, the system detects children who are likely to drop out, enabling authorities to focus special attention on students at risk and take timely action before they leave school. Key factors contributing to student dropouts include prolonged absenteeism, poor academic performance, health conditions and physical disabilities, behavioural issues, and similar indicators.

Additionally, school-related information such as the type of school (government, aided, private, etc.), multigrade classrooms, infrastructure facilities available in schools, as well as family-related information such as economic condition, migration status, perceptions and attitudes towards education, number of children in the family and demographic details, are also used to identify children at risk of dropping out.

The objective of this system is to identify children who are at risk of leaving school based on key indicators. Once identified, these children are provided with targeted support through preventive response strategies and interventions designed to address their specific needs, helping them remain in school.

This year as well, the system has identified 1,18,234 children who are potentially at risk of dropping out, and timely measures will be undertaken to prevent them from leaving school.

The Child Tracking System (CTS) is an online platform developed by the Gujarat Government's Education Department and Samagra Shiksha for managing and tracking the educational information of every student in the state.

The primary objectives of the Child Tracking System include ensuring school enrolment of every child in the state, identifying and re-enrolling dropout students, monitoring student attendance, progress and migration, ensuring that education-related government schemes reach eligible students, and maintaining educational records of every child.

CTS includes a database covering more than 54,000 schools and over 1 crore students across the state. Through this platform, students are tracked from Balvatika to primary education. The system plays a crucial role in identifying dropout children and facilitating their return to school. With the help of this system, 90,212 children who had dropped out of school were brought back into education this year.

The Gujarat Government has also begun integrating CTS with the AI-based Early Warning System, enabling early identification of students who are likely to drop out based on attendance, academic progress and other relevant factors.

— ANI