NEW DELHI: The Delhi Directorate of Education has formed 246 teams to identify out-of-school children (OoSC) during the winter vacation and facilitate their enrollment in schools. In a circular dated December 18, Samagra Shiksha, a society under the Education Department, announced an extensive survey from January 1 to January 15.
The survey will focus on identifying OoSC, including children with special needs (CwSN) and those with disabilities, for enrollment in nearby schools.
The survey will be conducted district-wise by Samagra Shiksha-Delhi teams led by District Urban Resource Centre Coordinators (DURCCs), District Coordinators, and the Inclusive Education Branch (IEB). The guidelines specify that survey teams will include an additional member, such as a Resource Person (CwSN) or a Guest Special Education Teacher.
The survey will cover children in the age groups of below six years and 6 to 19 years. It will be conducted daily between 9 am and 1 pm. Teams will wear official survey kits and ID cards with identifiable logos to gain the trust of residents and collect accurate information, it stated.
The survey teams are required to submit daily records to the DURCCs, which will then be mailed to the OoSC Cell at Samagra Shiksha headquarters by 5 pm. A complete report, signed by the Coordination Team and countersigned by the DURCC, must be submitted to Samagra Shiksha headquarters by January 15, it mentioned.
The department stated that children identified during the survey, including CwSN, will be admitted to schools by January 31. A final report on their enrollment will be submitted by February 7.
District Coordinators (IEB) have been directed to ensure the services of Aayas, Attendants, and Helpers are utilized for door-to-door verification of out-of-school CwSN and the implementation of home-based education (HBE) during the winter vacation, it read.
However, Aayas, Attendants, and Helpers working in special schools, hostels, and resource centers will be exempted from participating in the survey, the circular stated.
It added that details of newly identified OoSC must be uploaded on the Prabandh portal under the 2025-26 academic year by January 15. Based on the survey results, the number of OoSC, including CwSN, will be added to the target for the next year’s plan and budget.
