Vaishali Raje, Vinayak Raje<\/p>\n
ABSTRACT Introduction: India has taken 60 years to put Indias literacy rate to 66% since independence but still we are a country of 380 million illiterates. School dropout is a major social pathology which lands up children in social problems like juvenile delinquency, unemployment and poverty. School dropouts synergizes with poverty, malnutrition, ill health, lack of awareness in both children and parents. There has been high rate of school dropouts in India. Aims & objectives: The study was undertaken to know the prevalence of school dropouts and their socio-economic and health status in the urban slum area of Agashivnagar in Karad. Materials & Methods: Total 100 school dropouts were studied by house to house survey and were interviewed followed by physical examination. Analysis was done by chi square test. Results: Out of 392 children, 208(53.06%) were dropouts. Out of 100 dropouts, 67% were females, more than 3\/4th belonging to age 10- 16 years. Hindu girls (88.1%) and Muslim boys (36.4%) were significantly found defaulted. Verbal violence (38%) and physical violence (27%) were predominant behavioural problems whereas anaemia (81%), acute suppurative otitis media (65%), Acute respiratory infection (46%), mottling of teeth (42%) and undernourishment (33%) were most commonly seen physical problems among school dropouts.