The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has identified a rise in the number of boys who are out of school, when compared to that of girls in corporation schools. Over 59% of the out-of-school children in corporation schools are boys.

GCC Commissioner G.S. Sameeran said 4,308 boys and 2,994 girls had been identified as ’out of school’ in the city. The corporation will compile community-wise details for better intervention in each community.

“The key challenge is that many such children remain invisible due to migration, frequent change of residence, single-parent households, parental neglect or economic distress. Special attention is being given to children with disabilities or medical conditions, those at risk of child labour, and those facing barriers to access because of poverty or difficult family circumstances,” Dr. Sameeran said.

“The focus will be on door-to-door identification, strengthening school-community linkages, and convergence with social welfare, labour, health and other departments to understand the underlying reason for each child’s absence. Rather than treating it merely as an enrolment issue, the GCC will address the family’s socio-economic needs, facilitate access to entitlements, and closely track the child’s continued attendance. The objective is not only to bring children into school, but also to ensure that no child is lost from the education system again,” he added.

A coordination and implementation meeting on out-of-school children, chaired by the Commissioner, was held at Amma Maligai Auditorium at Ripon Buildings on Thursday.

It was organised in coordination with the Gender and Policy Lab, Education Department, and the Community Development and Socio-Economic Development Wings of the GCC.

At the meeting, the GCC Commissioner emphasised the importance of addressing the issue as a priority, and ensuring that every identified child was brought back into the education system.

He said the focus should extend beyond identification to understanding the reasons for children being out of school, engaging with their families, facilitating re-enrolment, and ensuring continued attendance and schooling.

Based on the identification of 7,302 out-of-school children across the GCC, 96 community organisers from the National Urban Livelihoods Mission were trained at the meeting to undertake field-level follow-up and support the re-enrolment process.

Officials have stressed the importance of understanding the individual circumstances of each child, including their family background, socio-economic conditions, educational challenges, and mental well-being, so that appropriate counselling and support could be provided.

To this effect, the GCC has proposed an administrative structure and implementation plan, with community organisers playing a key role in identifying and verifying children at the field-level, engaging with families, facilitating counselling, coordinating with schools, supporting re-enrolment, and ensuring regular follow-up.

“As a clear implementation target, action will be taken to facilitate the re-enrolment of the identified out-of-school children by August 31. The departments and field-level teams will work in coordination to achieve this target through systematic family engagement, counselling, and school-level facilitation,” Dr. Sameeran said.

Published - August 21, 2026 12:48 am IST