Ranchi: The Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) has launched a drive to identify and enrol out-of-school children, aged between 14 and 18 years, into open schooling in a bid to bring dropouts back into the mainstream academic fold.The scheme, implemented under the Union govt’s ‘Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan’, aims to help youngsters, who have been forced out of formal education due to pressing economic, social, or personal circumstances, complete their Class 10 (aged 14 to 16 years) and Class 12 (aged 16 to 18) examinations through National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) free of cost. Students will receive a certification from the NIOS upon passing their exams.JEPC state project director Shashi Ranjan said, “Children drop out due to social or financial constraints. This special provision guarantees that they can continue their education and earn legitimate secondary and higher secondary qualifications despite being unable to attend daily classes.”To boost outreach, the JEPC has appealed to parents, guardians and local residents to identify out-of-school youth in their neighbourhoods and urge them to register. Citizens can report details using an online form released by the council, with the submission deadline fixed for Oct 10. Alternatively, information can be shared with the education department’s ‘Vidya Samiksha Kendra’ via its toll-free helpline number, 0651-2710007.To further streamline the initiative, the JEPC director has instructed all district superintendents of education (DSEs) to designate one PM SHRI school or govt school in each block as an NIOS study centre. DSEs must also ensure that an additional govt school at the panchayat or municipal corporation level is earmarked as a study centre.Furthermore, district-level officers-in-charge or division heads of the ‘out-of-school’ programme have been directed to serve as nodal officers for the NIOS scheme.A total of 139 children have applied for the 2026-27 academic session. Most of the applications have been received from West Singhbhum, Garhwa, Khunti, Bokaro, Gumla, Seraikela-Kharsawan, and East Singhbhum districts.