Bhubaneswar, Feb. 4: The school and mass education department has decided to start a door-to-door survey to ascertain the number of schoolchildren in the state.

The exercise will begin on March 1.

Odisha happens to be the first state in the country where such a headcount is being initiated under the Right to Education Act, 2009.

"The motive is to identify children in the age group between one and 14 and maintain their record. The household survey will continue from March 1 till June 30. The plan aims to ensure that not a single child is left out of school. This also seeks to ensure that all kids in the state complete their primary education," said department secretary Ranjana Chopra.

Such a survey is mandatory according to Section 9 (d) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2010, and Rule 8 (1) of the Odisha Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2010.

The department has also sought assistance from the offices of district collectors, panchayati raj department, rural development department, minority development department, public health department and labour and tribal development department for the census.

The RTE Act, 2009, provides free and compulsory education to all children aged between six and 14 years."Earlier, we were using the child tracking system at the school level. However, a household survey will give us the accurate figures," said Odisha Primary Education Programme Authority director Mahendra Mallick.

"Special survey will be conducted to trace the hard-to-reach children, those who don't have a proper house and mostly live on streets in the urban areas of Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. These kids will be identified and then enrolled in appropriate classes," he said.

All district collectors have been requested to personally monitor the programme to ensure that it is completed on time. The department will hold an enrolment drive for all children on April 1.