34 Tribes and Educational Discourses
Dr. Nisha Jolly Nelson
A note on the concept of Tribes
‘Tribe’ like ‘caste’ is a term coined by the colonialist/imperialists (Thapar 1977) and since then it has remained with us. The term tribe is primarily a colonial construction (Singh 1993; Beteille 2008). It has been used in social science literature to understand the life and culture of a group of people who were predominantly forest dwellers. When the British began to write on Indian society, the term ‘tribe’ was used in general parlance in more than one sense: in reference to a group of people claiming descent from a common ancestor, and in reference to a group living in a primitive or barbarous conditions. The former usage has a longer history than the one which became prevalent after the colonial encounter (Xaxa 1999). Widespread confusion prevails in these writings with respect to the nomenclature, as many different names and categories were attributed to Indian tribes. In the first Census of India Report of 1881, all tribal groups were clubbed under the category of “Forest tribes”. This group was actually a part of agricultural and pastoral castes. In the 1901 Census report by Risley, they were renamed ‘Animists’. In the 1911 Census Report by Gait they were referred to as ‘Tribal Animist’ or the people following ‘Tribal Religion’. When Hutton wrote the Census report of 1921 he classified tribes as ‘Hill and Forest Tribes’. In the Government of India Act of 1935 they were named ‘Backward Tribes’ and the 1941 Census Report used the term ‘Tribe’ (Misra 2013 quoted in Behura and Panigrahi 2006). The nomenclature has undergone many changes in the course of history (to gain a greater understanding of the discourse on terminology see Beteille 1960, 1986, 2008; Channa 1998; Xaxa 1999 and Singh 2003).
Who Are Scheduled Tribes?
Article 366 (25) of the Constitution of India refers to Scheduled Tribes as those tribes or tribal communities, who are scheduled in accordance with Article 342 of the Constitution. This Article says that only those communities who have been declared as such by the President through an initial public notification or through a subsequent amendment by an Act of Parliament would be considered Scheduled Tribes. Tribes are not part of the traditional Hindu caste structure. Anthropologists have termed tribe as consisting of a singular cultural unit, having shared traits such as language and the absence of a hierarchical political structure. The term ‘Scheduled Tribe’ refers to specific indigenous peoples whose status is acknowledged to some degree by national legislation (Reimeingam, 2013). Scheduled Tribes in India are more like the ‘indigenous’ or ‘native people’ in other parts of the world.
The list of Scheduled Tribes is State/ Union Territory specific and a community declared as a Scheduled Tribe in one state need not be so in another state. Also, within the same state in different districts, there may be variations in identification of groups as tribes. The identification of a community as a Scheduled Tribe is an ongoing process. The essential characteristics, first laid down by the Lokur Committee, for a community to be identified as a Scheduled Tribe are a) indications of primitive traits b) distinctive culture c) shyness of contact with the community at large d) geographical isolation and e) backwardness (Ministry of Tribal Affairs 2012).
Distribution of Tribes
India has the largest tribal population in the world. It constitutes 8.6 per cent of the total population of the country. The tribal population of the country, as per the 2011 census is 104,281,034 (Census of India, 2011). It was 8.2% in 2001 with 91.7% of them living in rural areas and 8.3% in urban areas. The number of individual ethnic groups, etc. notified as Scheduled Tribes is 705 as per the 2011 Census.
The population of tribes had grown at the rate of 24.45% between 1991 and 2001. More than half the Scheduled Tribe population is concentrated in the States of Madhya Pradesh (14.51), Maharashtra (10.17), Orissa (9.66), Gujarat (8.87), Rajasthan (8.42) and Jharkhand (8.4). Tribal communities live in about 15% of the country’s area, in various ecological and geo-climatic conditions ranging from plains and forests to hills and inaccessible areas. Tribal groups are at different stages of social, economic and educational development. While some tribal communities have adopted the ‘mainstream way of life’, at the other end of the spectrum, there are certain Scheduled Tribes, 75 in number known as ‘Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups’ (PTGs). These groups are characterised by a) pre-agriculture level of technology b) stagnant or declining population c) extremely low literacy and d) subsistence level of economy. In some states the Scheduled Tribes are in majority, these being Mizoram (94.75%), Lakshadweep (93.15%), Nagaland (87.7%), and Meghalaya (85.53%). No Scheduled Tribes are notified in Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Delhi, and Pondicherry.
(Source:http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_And_You/scheduled_castes_and_scheduled_tribes.aspx).
History of Tribal Education in India
In this section we will be looking at some of the policies, programmes and administrative structures adopted by the government for the overall development of education among tribal groups in India.The history of tribal education in India has passed through different stages. The beginning of formal education for tribes dates back to the pre-independence period. It is basically due to the efforts of Christian missionaries that tribal groups in India started getting exposed to modern education. As early as in the 18th century the missionaries came to India and began to spread the message of their religion. For that, they established education and health centres in many tribal areas. During the colonial period the tribal areas were the last to come under British power primarily due to the difficult and inaccessible terrains they inhabited. Tribal development was not a priority area for the British Government. The tribal development policy of the British Government was isolationist and inclined to follow the policy of laissez-faire. “This policy helped landlords, money lenders and traders to exploit the tribes by way of depriving them of their lands and forest rights, pushing them deep into the interior. No, attempt was made either to educate the tribes or to strengthen their economic base” (Ghurye 1943).
The isolationist policy of the colonial government encouraged missionary activity in tribal areas. Christian missionaries, through their sustained work, introduced various social and educational reform measures in the tribal areas. Consequently, schools and hospitals were set up in some tribal areas. The missionaries in this sense can be considered as pioneers, who initiated the process of an organized socio-economic transformation in an otherwise change-resistant tribal life. However, missionary activities were confined to a few pockets and they did not therefore have a significant effect on the overall development of tribes.
During the Nationalist movement, concerned social workers established a few Ashram Residential Schools for tribal children along with craft oriented vocational-training. Thakkar Bapa in 1939 and Godavari Purlekar established Ashram Schools (Sharma and Sujatha, 1983). The model of these schools was replicated in large numbers in other parts of India after independence. Considering the magnitude of the tribal population and its diversity, the efforts of Christian missionaries and social workers did not make much headway and the tribes remained very backward socio-economically, particularly in their education (Sujata 1999).
After Independence
After India became independent fresh initiatives were taken for tribal development by replacing the earlier policy of indifference. The Government of India advocated a policy, which stressed on the socio-economic upliftment of tribes. With the adoption of the Constitution, the promotion of educational opportunities for tribals became the special responsibility of governments both at the centre and state.
The framers of our Constitution have given certain special facilities and securities to tribes. The policy of protective discrimination adopted by the Constitution resulted in the provision of special places for tribal students in admissions to educational institutions and incentives to retain them in schools/ colleges, besides also reserving places in public sector jobs. Article 45 of the Constitution is more specific regarding obligation of the state. It directs the state to provide within a period of 10 years from the commencement of the Constitution free and compulsory education up to the age of 14 years, and tribal children were covered under the provisions of this Article.
Article 46 of the Constitution directs the state to promote with special care the education and economic interest of the weaker sections of society and in particular scheduled caste and scheduled tribes. Besides the constitutional provisions, the main bases of educational policy in India were influenced by recommendations of commissions and committees appointed from time-to-time to address emerging concerns in the field of education. Due attention has been given by these agencies to the educational needs and concerns of tribal education.
National Policy on Education
We may make a special mention of the National Policy on Education of 1986 that laid great emphasis on the education of tribal children and youth and made the following recommendations:
· Opening primary schools in tribal areas
· Solving the lacunae in curriculum and infrastructure
· Encouraging tribal youth to take up teaching in tribal areas
· Designing incentives keeping the unique needs of tribals in view
The National Education Policy’s objective was to address the heterogeneity and diversity of the tribal population in the country.
Status of Tribal Education
Education, in its formalised form was never a part of traditional tribal culture. Therefore it took a longer period for this group to realise its importance. Many studies revealed that even though government has taken several steps for the educational development of tribal communities, the progress achieved by them is not up to the mark. In this section let us examine the factors responsible for slow educational attainment of tribal communities.
We begin with the basic level of education i.e. literacy, this being the most crucial requirement for enhancing one’s knowledge base and seeking development. The literacy rate of Scheduled Tribes increased from a meagre 8.53% in 1961 to 47.10% by 2001. At that point of time, the overall national literacy rate was 64.84% (Census of India, 2001). The most significant increase in the literacy level of tribals was reported by the 2011 Census, which showed that it had risen to 63.1%. However, in every census period there has been a significant difference in male and female literacy rates. The table given below shows the male-female differentials in tribal literacy rates between 1961 and 2011.
Literacy Rates of Scheduled Tribes in India from 1961 to 2011 ( in Percentage)
| Year | Male | Female | Total |
| 1961 | 13.83 | 3.16 | 8.54 |
| 1971 | 17.63 | 4.85 | 11.39 |
| 1981 | 24.52 | 8.05 | 16.35 |
| 1991 | 40.65 | 18.19 | 29.60 |
| 2001 | 59.17 | 34.76 | 47.10 |
| 2011 | 71.70 | 54.4 | 63.1 |
Source: National Commission for SCs & STs, Fifth Report & Census, 2011
The degree and level of educational development have been quite uneven among different states and among different segments of the population within the same state. Some states with higher tribal concentration in relation to their total population have done exceedingly well in terms of enhancing their literacy rates. The North-Eastern region of India with states such as Mizoram, Nagaland, and Meghalaya falls in this category. But in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh, which are inhabited by much larger number of tribals as compared to the north-eastern states, the rate of tribal literacy continues to be very low.
Factors affecting Tribal Educational Attainment
Literacy and educational attainment are powerful indicators of social and economic development of vulnerable groups. Currently, tribes lag behind not only the general but also the Scheduled Caste population in literacy and education (Sahu 2014). However in the last 10 years there has been a noticeable increase in the number of literates among tribal groups (Reimeingam, 2013). The increase in the literacy rate is partly attributed to the intervention of the government through schemes of free education, establishment of schools in remote tribal areas and reservation policy and also partly due to the increase in motivation by both self and parents, recognising the importance of education which is required for entering into formal employment. The gradual erosion of false beliefs and superstitions has also motivated tribals to make use of modern educational opportunities. Increasing pressure on agricultural lands necessitates people to seek employment opportunities in the non-farm sector and this situation has created a need for acquiring modern education.
Though a number of initiatives have been taken for the development of education among tribal communities considerable progress has not taken place in their educational attainment due to a vicious cycle of poverty, illiteracy and deprivation. Across generations this syndrome affects educational prospects of tribal families. In other words there is a social reproduction of illiteracy and marginalisation. Let us look at some of the important factors responsible for their educational backwardness.
Reasons for Low Educational Attainment
Tribals continue to lag behind the general population in education. Sujatha (1994) broadly categorizes the hurdles in the path of tribal education as:
a) External constraints
b) Internal Constraints
c) Socio-economic and Cultural Constraints Let us now try to understand each of these in detail.
External Constraints
In her extensive study on tribal education Sujatha (1994) found that the perspective adopted for educational development of tribal communities has not addressed the specific disadvantages that tribals face. One of the major constraints of tribal education at the planning level is the adoption of a dual system of administration. The Tribal Welfare Department which deals with tribal life and culture, including education lacks the expertise necessary for educational planning and administration in general, and academic supervision and monitoring in particular. On the other hand, the Department of Education which is the sole authority for planning educational development at state level and formulates guidelines and instructions regarding curriculum, textbooks, teacher recruitment, transfer policies does not work in coordination with the Tribal Welfare Department. It is this lack of coordination between the two departments that often results in persons and institutions working at cross purposes. Sujatha (1994) notes that under this dual system of administration, there is absence of coordination and complimentarity as well as inadequate scope for reciprocal use of respective expertise and experiences between the two departments.
Internal Constraints
The internal problems of tribal education cover such factors as infrastructure, curriculum content, suitable teachers and medium of education.
Infrastructure facilities
A majority of schools in tribal areas are without basic infrastructure facilities. Normally, school buildings in tribal areas have thatched roofs, dilapidated walls, and non-plastered floors. A large number of schools in tribal areas function with bare minimum of facilities and often lack proper classrooms, teaching‐learning materials, blackboards, drinking water facilities, toilet, and playground (Rathnaiah 1977). It is found that in most of the ashram schools which are residential in nature, there is no space for children to sleep. Consequently, the classroom turns into a dormitory in the evenings. Due to lack of minimum sanitary facilities many children studying in ashram schools are afflicted with contagious diseases such as scabies and diarrhoea, leading to high drop-out rates. Schools in tribal areas just function with bare minimum facilities.
Curriculum Content
Though the demand for modifying the curriculum content to suit the tribal context has been an old one, no serious effort has been made in this direction in any state, except for some sporadic pilot projects. The uniform structure and transaction of curriculum has put tribal children at a disadvantage. In respect of pedagogy, it is found that the rigid systems of formal schooling, which emphasise discipline, routine norms, teacher-centred instruction, etc., have made the children wary of school. This goes against the culture of free interaction and absence of force as embedded in the tribal ethos and culture prevalent at home. This has led to a sharp division between home and school leading to lack of interest among the children towards school. This is a major reason for both non-enrolment and dropout.
Shortage of Suitable Teachers
The competency and interest of teachers is of prime importance in generating and sustaining the interest of the students in the class room. In many cases non-tribal teachers consider themselves ‘civilised’ and tribals as ‘uncivilised’ and ‘savage’ (Pradhan 2011). So there is little appreciation of the tribal values and way of life. The relationship between children and teachers is not cordial and there are instances of teachers using children for their personal work. The cultural gap results in tribal children developing a sense of alienation from the teachers. The elite like behaviour of many teachers discourages many parents from sending their children to school or building a rapport with them (Panda 1988).
It cannot be inferred that the presence of tribal teachers would act as a panacea for all the ills of tribal education. There have been instances of teachers of one tribal group treating students and parents of another tribal community with little or no respect. The Valmiki tribe in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh occupies a lower ritual status as compared to Konda Reddis tribes, but the educational level of Valmiki is higher. If a teacher from Valmiki tribe is appointed to teach children in schools in areas predominantly inhabited by Konda Reddis, the latter would hesitate to give the Valmiki teacher a house or treat him/her as an equal. In the same way, Valmiki teachers feel that the Konda Reddis are lazy and superstitious (Sujatha 1994).
In running an effective system of tribal education the role of the teacher is very critical. However, in practice most teachers are reluctant to reside in tribal areas; rather they would prefer to stay in nearby towns. Only in inaccessible areas from which daily commuting is not viable they tend to live in the village where the school is located. In the maximum number of cases teachers in the tribal areas see the appointment as a ‘stop-gap’ arrangement. So there is lack of purpose or commitment. Many of the existing schools do not even have adequate number of teachers.
Medium of Education
Language symbolises social, psychological and emotional expressions of a person. Many studies identified that one of the main constraints in giving education to tribals relates to the language of communication. Pradhan (2010) in his study found that there are certain tribes in Orissa with whom it is extremely difficult to interact and this is especially true in the case of children and women. As male members are exposed to the market it is slightly easier to communicate with them. In many cases language becomes the main reason for students dropping out and teachers failing to establish a rapport with them. Given the fact that many tribal communities speak local dialects, which do not have scripts there is a possibility that they do not even understand the classroom deliberations that generally happen in the regional language of the state.
The Constitution of India allows the use of a tribal dialect (mother tongue) as the medium of instruction in case the population of that particular tribe is more than one lakh. But this has not been adopted on the grounds of feasibility and viability. Given the fact that most teachers who work in these schools are non-tribal, this arrangement does not generally work. Rani (2000) observed in her study that due to the language barrier tribal children are unable to establish communication with their teacher and this in turn leads to the termination of their education at some point or the other.
In recent years, some efforts have been made for preparing primers in tribal dialects but again they have been nullified in the context of inter-tribal rivalry, hierarchy, etc. Also, being small in number these efforts have not been successful in influencing mainstream education policies. It is also true that there is a great diversity in tribal languages and hence even the text books prepared in these dialects may not solve the language related problems of different sub-groups.
It is found that tribal students are often ridiculed, humiliated and reprimanded for speaking in their own language, and are punished for failing to converse in the language of the region and lapsing back to their own dialect (Nambissan 1994: 2752). Because of their inability to decipher the teaching-learning process that takes place either in the regional or national language, a large number of tribal students experience a sense of alienation. In the ultimate analysis children must be educated in the language of the state or the national language, but they should first be familiar with their own language to develop enthusiasm in classroom deliberations. It is only the linguistic and social skills that they cultivate in their earlier years that can prepare them for formal education in the future.
Although there is a need for the introduction of tribal dialects in the curriculum and teaching-learning process, this task is beset with hurdles because there is paucity of literature and text books in tribal dialects. Developing a script and vocabulary and preparing teaching and learning materials for tribal children is a complex and problematic task because of a large number of spoken languages involved and their rudimentary forms which have not developed into a written form that can be used in school language. The government and different commissions have recommended that the teachers knowing tribal languages are to be posted in tribal areas, but data reveals that only 6 percent of the teachers who are in the primary schools belong to tribal communities and out of this 50 percent of the teachers are untrained (National Population Education 1996: 91).
Socio-economic and Cultural Constraints
In a broad sense socio-economic and cultural factors that determine educational access as well as performance vis-à-vis tribal children can be identified as follows:
· Poor economic conditions
· Indifferent attitudes of tribal parents
· Superstitions and prejudices
Poor Economic Conditions
Most studies on educational deprivation of tribals have inevitably linked it to their poor economic condition. The main base of tribal livelihood is agriculture, practised either through shifting or terrace cultivation method, where productivity remains very low. Consequently, children play an important role, contributing directly or indirectly to family income by participating in the family occupation and household work such as cattle grazing, fuel and fodder collection, etc. They think that if the children are taken away from their normal economic work to attend school, the family is deprived of even the little income which the family would have got. If the child stops working parents would have to take the responsibility for feeding the child and this places further burdens on an already impoverished family. There is little wonder that in these circumstances, education, the basic necessity of life, becomes a matter of luxury for many tribal families, in spite of supportive state schemes. Sujatha (2004) is critical of such initiatives for more than one reason. First, the incentives do not have full coverage, and thus, have limited value at the community level. Second, many of the benefits do not reach the beneficiaries. Third, even though incentives such as slates and uniforms are given, they are poor in quality and do not reach them in time nullifying the very purpose of the schemes. It should be noted that the impoverished economic status of tribals makes even the smallest amount of private expenditure involved in procuring writing material, clothing, etc., a serious burden on the family. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising if education is not given priority. In an economy dominated by struggle for survival, options are limited. Since education does not provide any visible and immediate benefit and tribals do not see beyond their present state, the participation of tribal children in education also becomes limited.
In recent years the efforts of the government have been directed towards improving economic conditions of tribes by introducing various developmental programmes and schemes, mostly related to agriculture, horticulture, and cattle rearing, backed by subsidies and monetary and non-monetary inputs. A critical analysis of development programmes and their effect on tribal households shows that till tribal households reach a threshold level of income and land size, the economic development programmes can come into conflict with other activities like education. In a way it can be said that these development programmes seem to be adversely affecting the education of tribal children (see Sujatha 1994).
Indifferent attitude of tribal parents
Both the tribal and non-tribal teachers find it very difficult to convince tribal parents to send their children to school. A large section of tribal parents do not send their children to school to utilize the free educational opportunities offered to them. In addition, there are many factors responsible for apathy of the parents towards education. Psychological and social factors such as illiteracy of parents and their indifference to education, lack of encouragement by the community, motivation and the sense of insecurity that they experience about their future come in the way of their utilising opportunities for education. Factors like low social interaction between students and teachers, and between teachers and parents, suspicion over the sincerity of non-tribal teachers and in many cases shortage of tribal teachers also discourage parents from sending their children to school. It is also true that the location of schools at long distances creates a feeling of insecurity, especially for girls and is primarily responsible for the refusal of the parents to send them to schools. Apart from this most of the parents in tribal locality are not interested in sending their girls to co-educational institutions (Mishra 1996 and Pradhan 2004).
Superstitions and Prejudices
Superstitions, conservatism and prejudices play a negative role in blocking the progress of education in tribal areas. Even today in most parts of the country, tribal women remain steeped in superstitions and ignorance and hardly have a way out of their secluded existence. (Rani, Rajani and Neeraja 2011). Except in the case of tribal communities in north-eastern region, there is a widespread feeling in the tribal communities that modern education makes their children defiant and insolent and alienates them from the rest of their society. There is an inherent fear that exposure to modern education would also tempt them to seek jobs in cities and towns, which in turn might lead to their separation from their families and native communities. There are also cases of tribal groups that are opposed to sending girls to schools because they think that their daughters may marry non-tribal youth. Glorification of their ancestral values and customs by elders acts as a block to tribal children and youth seeking opportunities in modern educational institutions. They fear that ‘outsiders’ such as non-tribal teachers, school administrators and visitors may influence them to reject or question traditional tribal values and practices (Panda 1988). In recent years, however there have been instances of tribal youth who are trying to come out of such restrictive conditions and entering modern educational institutions.
The modern education system had made very few attempts to address cultural specificities in designing education policies for tribal students. This has resulted in the development of a negative self‐image. Although it is claimed that tribal students get free education there are both visible and invisible costs which the state schemes fail to cover. This is especially true of higher levels of education. Costs on private tuitions and other incidental expenses are a drain on poor families and discourage poor tribal families from sending their children to institutions of higher education. The un-empathetic attitudes and beliefs of teachers and ill‐conceived developmental policies designed by educational planners fail to incorporate curricular elements compatible with tribal culture and have failed to break the vicious cycle of poverty-ignorance and lack of motivation (Mukherjee, 2009).
Cultural constraints
Studies on tribal education in India also point out that while most schools in the tribal belt offer education free of cost, the major cause of high drop‐out rates of tribal children lies in cultural alienation (Sujatha, 1994). Tribal culture hardly finds a representation in content and pedagogical practices. Even if a tribal child, despite his/her poor economic condition, manages to attend school, he/she cannot bridge the huge cultural gulf that exists between the home environment and the environment at school. Due to their change-resistant attitudes and cultural practices the priorities of tribal parents are misplaced and it is a real challenge for teachers and administrators to battle with these cultural blocks. Support schemes for tribal students most often do not address problems of cultural isolation nor do they take into account their real-life needs. For instance, the quality of education, the language of instruction in class, and low attendance of tribal students during specific months of a year are factors that need to be taken into consideration while planning development programmes in tribal areas.
Schemes for Educational Development of Tribal Children
Since the country became independent and realised the need and importance of carving out special initiatives for ensuring that tribal children were not excluded from utilising educational opportunities, a number of special schemes have been launched towards achieving this end. In the section that follows an attempt is made to throw light on the major schemes that are meant to promote the education of tribal children and youth. Some of the major educational schemes initiated by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India are:
· Hostels for ST girls and boys
· Establishment of Ashram schools in Tribal and Sub Plan areas
· Up-gradation of merit for ST students
· Post-Matric scholarship for ST students
· National Overseas Scholarship for ST students
· Top Class education for ST students Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for ST students
Provision of Hostel Facilities for ST Girls and Boys
A scheme to establish hostels for girls was introduced in the Third Five-Year Plan with the objective of providing residential facilities to tribal girls. Since many tribal areas are located at distances from schools girl students were forced to drop out from school by their parents because they had to walk through remote areas or forest regions and they feared for their safety. Provision of hostel facilities was seen as a key motivator for promoting both enrolment and retention of tribal girl students. Under the scheme, central assistance is given to States/UTs for construction of new hostel buildings and/or extension of existing hostels. In this scheme the cost of the construction of the hostel building is shared equally between the Centre and the State in the ratio of 50:50. In case of UTs, the central government bears the entire cost of the building. The cost of construction is based on the State PWD schedule of rates or local CPWD schedule of rates, whichever is lower. Maintenance of the hostel is the responsibility of the concerned States/UTs. The total number of seats in a hostel can go upto 100. The scheme was later extended to include hostels for male students also with the objectives, terms and conditions as well as the pattern of assistance being the same as in the case of girls’ hostels. From the X Plan onwards the two schemes have been merged.
Ashram Schools in Tribal Sub-plan Areas
The centrally-sponsored scheme of Ashram Schools was launched in 1990-91 with the objective to extending facilities such as establishment of residential schools for STs in an environment conducive to learning. The main objective of Ashram Schools was not only to increase and sustain literacy rates of tribal children, but also help them keep pace with educational levels attained by other sections of the population. The funding for the scheme to the state is done on a matching (50:50) basis, while cent per cent assistance is given to UTs
Upgradation of Merit for ST Students
The objective of the scheme is to upgrade the merit of ST students by providing them remedial and special coaching from classes IX to XII. While remedial coaching aims at helping them overcome their learning difficulties in different subjects, special coaching is provided for preparing ST students to take up competitive examinations for seeking entry into professional courses such as engineering and medicine. The scheme provides for 100% central assistance to the States/UT’s. A package grant of Rs. 15,000/- per student per year is provided and the State/UTs are not required to bear any financial burden in this regard.
Post-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Tribes Students
The objective of the scheme is to provide financial assistance to students belonging to Scheduled Tribes pursuing recognized Post-Matriculation courses in recognized institutions. The scheme covers professional, technical as well as non-professional and non-technical courses at various levels and it also includes correspondence courses including distance and continuing education. The scheme is implemented by state governments and union territories with a central assistance of 100 %. Additional expenses, if any must be borne by the state /UT governments with their budgetary provisions.
National Overseas Scholarship Scheme for Scheduled Tribes
The Scheme provides financial assistance to meritorious ST students for pursuing higher studies abroad in specified fields of master level courses, doctoral and post-doctoral programmes, in the fields of engineering, technology and science. The cost of tuition and other educational expenses are also covered for students selected under this programme. travel and maintenance costs are also taken care of. In addition passage grants are also available to candidates belonging to ST who are in receipt of merit scholarship for postgraduate studies, research or training abroad (excluding attending seminars, workshops, conferences) from a foreign government/organization or under any other scheme where cost of passage is not provided. Fifteen awards would be sanctioned to ST students per year.
Top Class Education for ST Students
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has introduced a new Central Sector Scholarship Scheme of Top Class Education for ST Students from the academic year 2007-08 with the objective of encouraging meritorious ST students for pursuing studies at degree and post degree levels in any of the identified institutes. There are 127 institutes identified under the scheme in both government and private sectors covering the fields of management, medicine, engineering, law and commerce. Each institute has been allocated five awards, with a ceiling of total 635 scholarships per year. If an ST student has to avail this facility his/her family income from all sources must not exceed rupees 2.00 lakh per annum.
Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme (RGNF)
Under this scheme which was introduced in the year 2005-06 fellowships are provided to ST students for pursuing higher courses s such as M.Phil. and Ph. D. The maximum duration of the fellowship is for a period of 5 years. Every year 667 fellowships would be provided to ST students. The scheme is being implemented by the University Grants Commission (UGC) on behalf of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. All students who have a post graduate degree of a recognised university are eligible to seek assistance under this programme ( For more details visit http://tribal.nic.in/Content/SchemesinShort.aspx).
Concluding Remarks
Mere provision of free education, text books, uniforms and financial benefits has not really helped to break economic and cultural barriers to the educational development of most tribal children and youth. Short term programmes that are insensitive to their real life situations cannot yield any viable alternatives for overcoming the blocks they face. The programmes must stress on the following aspects if they have to make a dent into the rather change resistant social fabric of tribal societies, and create an environment conducive to learning:
· Giving emphasis to enhancing the quality of their lives rather than expressing token sympathy for their
conditions.
· Laying stress on programmes aimed at making them economically independent and creating structures
that help families to find sustainable livelihood bases, which in-turn free tribal children and youth from
oppressive work burdens.
· Designing flexible school schedules that take into consideration local and familial circumstances. For
example it is necessary to give up the stubborn stance of running schools at a time when the presence of
their children is required by their families. This would prevent large scale absenteeism that happens during
peak agricultural seasons.
· Building a partnership between communities and schools as this is a critical input for ensuring continuity
between the two institutions. Such a step not only builds the confidence of parents about the school but also
introduces them to the ethos of school life and culture.
· Preparation of primers and other teaching-learning material in a medium which is familiar to tribal
students. It is also important to include in the curriculum locally relevant material in order to make tribal
students comfortable and confident.
· It is important to build the skills of teachers to deal with issues and problems that may confront them while
dealing with tribal students.
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