Why in news?

The Tripura government has decided to restart the Vidyalaya Cholo Abhiyan to bring back around 9,000 students aged between six and 14 who dropped out of 4,300 schools across the State during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Highlights:

• The government has also announced a new scheme, Earn with Learn, under which third-year college students will be tasked with conducting surveys to identify dropouts across classes and rewarded ₹500 for re-enrolling them in schools.

Need for the program:

• Hundreds of students from Classes I to VIII dropped out when schools remained shut for two years due to the pandemic.

About the Vidyalaya Cholo Abhiyan

• The abhiyan was originally launched in 2009, to bring back dropouts, but could not make any headway owing to the continuation of the pandemic.

Earn with Learn scheme

• Under the Earn with Learn scheme, each volunteer will be given ₹500 if they enrol a dropout student in the same school. Anganwadi teachers will assist the volunteers to make sure the programme is a success.