Ministry of Education reviews strategy for mainstreaming Out-of-School children

A high-level meeting was convened under the chairmanship of Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education, to deliberate upon the issue of out-of-school children, particularly in the 14-18 years age group, and to discuss the implementation strategy for the proposed new NIOS initiative.

The meeting was attended by Smt. Prachi Pandey, Joint Secretary, DoSEL, Prof. Akhilesh Mishra, Chairperson and Col. Shakeel Ahmad, Secretary of the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), senior officials of the Ministry of Education, representatives of State Governments, District Collectors/District Magistrates of identified pilot districts and officials of NIOS and State Education Departments.

Addressing the participants, Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, DoSEL, highlighted the serious concern of school dropouts and stated that, as per available data, out of every 100 children entering Class I, only 62 reach Class XII. He further noted that, according to the latest PLFS estimates, over two crore children in the 14–18 age group are currently out of school.

Smt. Prachi Pandey, Joint Secretary, DoSEL, stated that the issue of out-of-school children is being addressed in mission mode and highlighted that the proposed initiative would adopt a data-driven approach with a strong focus on last-mile outreach.

Prof. Akhilesh Mishra, Chairperson, NIOS, stated that education represents hope, dignity, and opportunity, and observed that the key challenge lies in reaching children who remain disconnected from the education system.

Col. Shakeel Ahmad, Secretary, NIOS, delivered a detailed presentation on the operational framework of the initiative.(updated on 16th May 2026)