Every year, 19 per cent of tribal children drop out of school. DEVANIK SAHA lists four primary reasons why good education is a distant dream for them
The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2014 was released recently, and yet again it highlighted the pressing significance for improving learning outcomes. Although the enrollment level has significantly increased over the past years, with the 2014 enrollment figure at 96.7 per cent, staying the same as 2013, a lot is left to be desired when it comes to the learning levels of children.
The proportion of all children in Class 5 who can read a Class 2 text has improved by 1 percentage point from 2013. In 2014, 48.1 per cent children of Class 5 could read a Class 2 text as compared to 47 per cent in 2013. The report further states that 25.3 per cent of Class 3 children could do a two-digit subtraction in 2014 as compared to 26.3 per cent in 2012. After the report’s release, as usual, there followed a bombardment of opinion pieces and editorials on how the education system needs to be revamped.
There has been an education boom in the past few years, with numerous NGOs and private sector organisations entering the education sector. However, amidst this hullabaloo, although small, but the most neglected group of children in the country has been deserted. According to the Census 2011, India has 104 million tribals spread across various States. Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland are some of the most heavily populated tribal States in India. However, the wobbly condition of education in these regions is worrying. As per statistics, almost 19 per cent of tribal children (age group 6-14) drop out of school every year. A deep dive into these regions reveals that there are four primary reasons as to why an excellent education for tribal children is a distant reverie.
Firstly, there has been a lot of debate on the medium of instruction in schools. Government primary schools generally use the State language for teaching and less often, in some other languages as well. For example, in Mumbai, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) runs schools in Hindi, English, Marathi, Gujarati, Urdu and a few other languages. However, a tribal child isn’t exposed to any of the State languages and interacts mainly in their own language or dialect, which makes it extremely difficult for him to cope with a new language. Neither are the children able to read or understand any textbook in the State language nor do teachers make special efforts to assist them. Eventually, the tribal children lag behind their counterparts and drop out of schools. Initially, the local tribal language should be used as a medium of instruction, and then the State language should be introduced in a phased manner since it is necessary for integration with the mainstream education system.
Secondly, unprecedented levels of corruption prevail in the Government departments. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs runs a scheme Eklavya Model Residential School, which is a Government of India scheme with grants under Article 275 (1) of the Constitution of India. It aims to provide quality middle and high level education to Scheduled Tribe (ST) students in remote areas, not only to enable them to avail of reservation in high and professional educational courses and jobs in Government and public and private sectors but also to have access to the best opportunities in education on par with the non-ST population.
Additionally, there are a few State-run ashramshalas, which are also boarding schools for tribal children. Unfortunately, the scheme is marred by corruption and malpractices. Recently, there was a report on how tribal boarding schools in Maharashtra operate under frightful circumstances. It is estimated that between 2001 and 2013, 793 children died in the tribal schools of Maharashtra due to minor illnesses and reptile bites, primarily because medical aid was unavailable. The schools are provided almost Rs1 crore each, but the children live in dingy rooms with no electricity or water, and the permanent teachers are absent on most days. It further reveals that these ashramshalas are run by politicians, who allegedly show inflated enrollment figures to get funds from the Government, but never utilise them for the schools. Clearly, the Government needs to pull up its socks to impede the rampant corruption and ensure that the funds are utilised in the right direction.
The third reason is that of accessibility. Though many NGOs and private organisations have spruced up in the past few years, there are a very few that work exclusively in tribal regions. Tribals primarily reside in interior regions where accessibility is tough and would require enormous financial resources to work for improving education in those regions. Furthermore, the report reveals that no IAS officer has worked for more than a year on tribal development projects due to the intricate living conditions. However, in spite of such difficulties, some NGOs like learning Space and Bal Anand Jeevan Shala (BAJS) in Maharashtra and Wayanad Girijana Seva Trust in Kerala are putting in painstaking efforts to support tribal children and help them integrate with mainstream education.
The fourth and final reason is the existing insurgency in tribal dominated regions. States like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, West Bengal and North-East States are severely affected by Naxalism and violent insurgencies. It is no secret that the insurgents use the tribals as a shield to protect themselves and operate their own ‘Governments’ in these regions, which makes it exceedingly difficult for tribals to receive the benefits from Government schemes and NGOs to make interventions. In Chhattisgarh, CRPF has been known to occupy schools to attack Naxalites, while Naxalites destroy schools to thwart the security forces. In the midst of the never-ending conflict between the Government and Naxalites, hapless tribal children are denied their basic constitutional right of education.
Hence, as witnessed, tribal children have largely been left to their own fate and the prevalent circumstances make it indispensable that the Central as well as State Governments dedicate significant resources if they are keen to improve their lives.
The writer is the Founding Member and Data Editor at The Political Indian