Education is a human right and the Constitution of India recognises it as a fundamental right of every child. It is the duty of the State to ensure education for all. Education for marginalised communities such as SCs and STs in Odisha is very important for their liberation from historical injustice and marginalisation.
It will pave the way towards their development with dignity. But the recent cases of suicide by girl students of marginalised communities of backward districts question the role of the State in promoting education among girls of these communities.
Sunita Raita, a Nursing student of R Udayagiri in Gajapati district, Kanakadei Bhadra, a Class X student of the Ghatiguda High School in Papadahandi of Nabarangapur district, and Banita Naik of a Class VII of the Aska Government Girls’ High School in Ganjam ended their lives for lack of tuition fees and reading materials. It is not that they had no support, but they were not timely supported by the administration.
Sunita’s stipend was not released for about 16 months despite her grievance petition to the Collector which she mentioned in her suicide note and blamed the District Magistrate and the Project Administrator, ITDA, of the district. Kanakadei’s stipend was not deposited in her designated bank account and Banita’s money was not released though it was due.
It is observed on many occasions that the authorities are not serious to the issues of students and show a callous attitude. All the three girls belonged to the most neglected group of society who were not getting due attention in family, society and by State.
Their parents are poor agricultural workers and wage labourers. The districts are backward in terms of health and educational infrastructure and known for distress migration from the State.
The issue is not limited to three girls; rather lakhs of SC and ST, OBC and minority students in the State who are depending on stipend are routinely harassed and their stipends are usually delayed by department officials and educational institutions.
Many poor and illiterate parents are visiting local banks and tehsil offices for a number of times to avail caste/tribe certificates and to open a bank account for their schoolchildren. In a number of cases, the parents have to bribe local officials and persuade the bank staff with all humiliation to get the documents.
The Government has introduced online system to file applications which is good for educated people, but it is very difficult for people in remote rural and inaccessible areas without electricity and computer, and as a result they have to travel a long distance just to submit the application by taking the help of a computer literate on payment.
SC/ST Department sources reveal that in 2012-2013 there were 8,30,470 ST students to get pre-matric, 72,669 ST students to get post-matric and 5,96,563 SC students to get pre-matric and 84,674 SC students to get post-matric scholarships. The scholarships paid to SC and ST students are a full Central assistance.
The State Government has only to manage this; and it is very important in a State like Odisha where SC and STs constitute 40 per cent of the population. But it is unfortunate that though there is a dedicated department and availability of huge funds under budgetary provision like SCSP and TSP, the State Government fails to manage this important programme.
The state’s responsibility to ensure education for all has been shifted from state to market forces, private organisations and religious bodies. The state resources are provided to private organisations in forms of land, grants and other support such as sponsorship to ensure education.
SC and ST children are sponsored by Government, public sector undertakings and private corporate houses to promote private educational institutions by using allocations for the marginalised communities, but it is unfortunate that the basic purpose of such expenditure by state and others is not properly monitored to attain the goal.
In the context of women education, the women literacy in Odisha is less than the national average while the literacy rate of SC and ST women is very low compared to other social groups. The literacy rate of vulnerable tribal women and women in interior and backward areas is a matter of grave concern.
With all difficulties girls are coming to school, but they are facing all kinds of mental and physical abuse at home, educational institutions and society at large. They are socially discriminated against due to their social status as a woman of a different ethnic group or low caste.
There are regular complaints of poor living condition and insecurity by the inmates of residential schools run by the SC and ST Development Department. While the Government- run schools and hostels suffer from various kinds of problems, the Government, public sector companies like NMDC, NAlCO and MCl have been supporting private institutions with sponsorship of SC and ST students.
The resources of tribal development programme like ITDA and TSP are diverted to private organisations in the cities in the name of tribal development. The elected representatives of tribal areas are working as agents of private educational institutions and mobilising students for these institutions.
A number of Government programmes for education of SC and ST children are diverted to private organisations in the name of excellence. Such a policy is promoting education business by private organisations in the State.
Government-run institutions are projected as inferior to private institutions in terms of quality and standards. By this, a demand has been created to motivate SC and ST parents to send their children to private institutions.
Various studies and media reports show that many schools and hostels for SC and ST children are places of discrimination .Many teaching and nonteaching staff carry a mindset of superiority and impose the dominant values and cultural practices on children.
Numbers of religious groups are allowed in tribal areas to propagate religion in the name of education, and many of the educational institutions are used as places of religious propaganda with active support of ruling parties and financial grant from the Ministries of Tribal Affairs and Social Justice and Empowerment.
Tribal children are discouraged to speak their languages and practise their culture and belief systems; rather, they are forced to adopt the dominant cultures and languages.
International agencies working on issues of education of SC and ST children are not involving any SC and ST organisation in their work. They are mechanically relating with Government and have their self-engaged monitoring systems without involvement of communities, specially SC and ST representatives, elected PRI leaders, MlAs and MPs and constitutional bodies such as NCSC, NCST and State Tribal Advisory Council, SC Advisory Board and House Committee of SC and ST, who are almost unaware about the intervention by such agencies. International agencies in Odisha are managed by upper class elites with very insignificant involvement of people of marginaliaed sections of the State.
There is a lack of larger coordination among all the stakeholders in the State and huge information gap among the actors including community. The SC and ST Development Department, as the nodal agency, is not playing any proactive role in planning, coordination and monitoring its work with SC and STs.
There is absence of political will from above and pressure from people below when some unwanted incident happens, The Government and ruling parties have been managing the victim’s family’s and public anger by paying compensation to the family.
The crime done by Government officials and non-accountability of elected representatives in ensuring good governance are compensated out of the State treasury. The visits of political leaders to the victims and demand for huge compensation and transfer of a few officials will not solve the problem unless the very system of governance has been improved.
There is no political will to implement Constitutional mandate, policy and laws to improve the educational system, especially to ensure education of SC, ST and women who are being neglected for centuries.
(The writer is a rights activist who can be reached ojaabbsr@gmail.com)