NCST seeks ATR on school dropouts in mining belts

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has sought an action-taken report (ATR) within 30 days on the alarming rate of school dropouts, particularly among SC/ST students, in the industrial and mining belts of Jajpur district—specifically in Sukinda and Danagadi blocks.

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Social activist Mantu Das had drawn the attention of the NCST Chairperson towards the state of affairs through a formal complaint September 7 last year. Acting on the complaint, NCST Director P Kalyan Reddy April this year directed the Principal Secretary of the ST/SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Department, the Commissioner of School and Mass Education department, and the Jajpur Collector to submit a factual report on the issue within 30 days of receiving the letter. Failure to comply may result in a summons being issued to the concerned officials, the NCST warned.