Jharkhand gearing for statewide household survey to identify out-of-school children

Jharkhand will begin a door-to-door school enrollment survey on November 15, aiming to ensure that no child in the state remains out of the education system. The drive will continue till January 10, 2026. Teachers and education department staff will visit every household to collect data on children’s schooling status and upload it in real time through a mobile application.

The initiative will help identify children who have dropped out or are not enrolled in school. School-wise data will be prepared so that re-enrollment for the next academic session can begin without delay. The government has said the campaign is part of its effort to strengthen the education system and guarantee access to schooling for every child.

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In the previous survey, nearly 59,000 children in Jharkhand were found to be out of school. This time, the education department has set a target of zero dropouts across all villages and wards.

Survey reports will feed directly into a state-level monitoring portal. Headmasters have been instructed to submit timely information from their areas. District education officers will be responsible for ensuring that no school’s data remains pending.

Local panchayats, school management committees and voluntary organisations will support the survey. Officials say the aim is not only to identify gaps but to make sure students who left school are brought back at the earliest.

Education officer Vinay Kumar said the survey is a concrete step toward connecting every child in Jharkhand with formal education. He added that field verification and monitoring systems have been strengthened to prevent disruptions to learning caused by economic hardship, distance or lack of resources.

According to him, community participation will be essential, and the survey findings will help shape policy for the 2026 academic session.

The exercise will also test the state’s capacity to use technology for education monitoring. Its results will influence planning and resource allocation as Jharkhand works to build a dropout-free school system.