The residential school opened at Jauljivi about 14 years ago to facilitate the education of children from Van Raji community — a native endangered ethnic minority group — is facing the threat of closure. No budget has been provided to this school for three and a half years now. On November 14 last year at the Jauljivi Mela, Chief Minister Harish Rawat had declared that this school would be made a Government school and required budget would be provided to it.
However, these announcements have not been executed so far, said the BJP district spokesman who has submitted a letter addressed to the Governor through the district magistrate seeking necessary action on humanitarian grounds. No voluntary organisation or individual is coming forward to the aid of this school, he said.
The Van Raji is an endangered community residing in Dharchula, Kanalichina and Didihat areas of Pithoragarh district. Since the life of this tribe is centered on forests, socialist leader and former MlA Hira Singh Bora had established this residential school at Jauljivi in 2001 to facilitate education for Van Raji children.
The school receives budget from the Government of India based on the recommendation of the State Government. However, not a single rupee has been received by the school for more than three years now bringing it near closure. There are a total of 17 employees including teachers in this school with 28 girls and 25 boys of the Van Raji tribe studying in the school that comprises 16 rooms.
locals point out that while campaigning in the Assembly election, the Dharchula MlA and Chief Minister Harish Rawat had promised to make this a government school and facilitate budget for it. In the letter addressed to the Governor KK Paul, the BJP district spokesman Jagat Singh Martoliya states that to ensure the welfare of tribals, the Government of India has the ministry of Tribal Affairs while Uttarakhand Government has formed a tribal directorate.
“Tribal children avoid attending mainstream schools and if they are forced to study along with the mainstream of society, they tend to drop out of school,” he said. Instead of considering the issue only from the technical view, it should be considered from the humanitarian point of view, said Martoliya while requesting the Governor to intervene in the matter. The BJP district spokesman has said that if the Chief Minister doesn’t not respond proactively, he along with the 53 Van Raji students would sit on a hunger strike.