Issues and Challenges of Education in Tribal Areas

Prof. Nityananda Pradhan

Head, Department of Extension Education,

NERIE, NCERT, Shillong, Meghalaya

E-mail: npradhan17@rediffmail.com.

Mob: 9402394365/9437235670

What are Tribal Areas?

• Generally mean areas having predominance /concentration of tribal population.

• Areas where provisions of Sixth Schedule are applicable are known as Tribal Areas.

What are Tribal Areas?

• The Constitution of India, under Articles 244(2) and 275(1), refers tribal areas within the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura & Mizoram, i.e. areas specified in Parts I, II, IIA & III of the paragraph 20 of the Sixth Schedule .

• In these areas Autonomous District Councils have been set up.

What are Scheduled Areas?

• Indian Constitution, under Article 244(1) of the Fifth Schedule, defines the term ‘Scheduled Areas’ as "such areas as the President may by order declare to be Scheduled Areas”

• The Scheduled Areas, have been declared in eight States, viz A.P., Bihar, Gujarat, H.P., Maharashtra, M.P., Odisha and Rajasthan.

• The president may schedule, reschedule and alter Scheduled Areas in a state after consultation with the Governor of that state.

What are Scheduled Areas?

• The provisions of the Fifth Schedule shall apply to the administration and control of the Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in any State other than the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram

• The provisions of the Sixth Schedule shall apply to the administration of the tribal areas in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram

Who are Scheduled Tribes?

• The term ‘Scheduled Tribes’ was first appeared in the Constitution of India

• Article 366 (25) refers to scheduled tribes as those communities who are scheduled in accordance with Article 342 of the Constitution

Who are Scheduled Tribes?

• According to Article 342 of the Constitution, ‘the Scheduled Tribes are the tribes or tribal communities or part of or groups within these tribes and tribal communities which have been declared as such by the President through a public notification’

• 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 amending Act of Parliament will be considered to be Scheduled Tribes

Who are Scheduled Tribes?

• Scheduled Tribes are notified for each State or Union Territory and are valid only within the jurisdiction of that State or Union Territory and not outside.

• The inclusion of a community as a Scheduled Tribe is an ongoing process.

Who are Scheduled Tribes?

The essential characteristics, for a community to be identified as Scheduled Tribes are:

i. Indications of primitive traits;ii. distinctive culture; iii.Shyness of contact with the community at

large; iv.Geographical isolation; andv. Backwardness

(Lokur Committee, 1965)

Who are Scheduled Tribes?

• No community has been specified as Scheduled Tribe in the States of Haryana and Punjab, and Union Territories of Chandigarh, Delhi and Puducherry.

Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs)

• STs who live in near isolation in inaccessible habitats; and are characterized by a low rate of growth of population, pre-agricultural level of technology and extremely low levels of literacy.

• So far 75 PTGs have been identified.

Demographic Profile of ST Population: Highlights from Census 2011

• Constitute a population of 10.42 crore (8.6% of the country’s total population)

• Number of individual ethnic groups etc. notified as Scheduled Tribes is 705

• Scheduled Tribes are notified in 30 States/UTs• No community has been specified as Scheduled Tribe

in the States of Haryana and Punjab; and Union Territories of Chandigarh, Delhi and Pudcherry.

Demographic Profile of ST Population: Highlights from Census 2011

• Half of the ST population is concentrated in five States: Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Gujarat, and Rajasthan

• More than two-third of the ST population is concentrated only in the seven States of the country, viz. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh.

• 17 States and 01 UTs have higher % of ST population than country’s average (8.6%)

Demographic Profile of ST Population: Highlights from Census 2011

• All the 8 North Eastern States have higher % of ST population than country’s average (8.6%)

• There are 90 districts where ST population is more than 50%. Of these, as many as 49 districts are in 8 North Eastern States

• The State of Mizoram and Union Territories of Lakshadweep have more than 90% ST population: 94.4% and 94.8% respectively

Distribution of ST Population• The tribal situation in the country presents a varied

picture.

• The tribal/scheduled areas in the country are classified under three broad categories:

• States and Union Territories having a majority scheduled tribe population (4 states+2 UTs)

• States and Union Territories having substantial tribal population, but majority tribal population in particular administrative units, such as block and tahsils.

• States and Union Territories having dispersed tribal population.

Approach to Tribal Development

• Tribal majority States like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and U.Ts. of Lakshadweep and Dadra & Nagar Haveli may not need a Tribal sub-Plan

• Tribal Sub-plan (TSP) approach was adopted in second & third category of States and Union Territories, after delineating areas of tribal concentration.

Education of Scheduled Tribe ChildrenIssues and concerns

• GER at Primary stage is 137 as against 116 of their non-tribal counterparts.

• GER at Upper Primary stage is 88.9 as against 85.5;

• GER at Elementary stage is 119.7 as against 104.3

(Statistics for School Education , 2010-2011).

Issues and concerns

• Participation of these children is now more or less in proportion to their share in population at the elementary school level.

• The dropout rate at primary school level is 35.6% as against 27% of their non-tribal counterparts.

• The dropout rate at elementary school stage are 55% as against 40.06 of their non-tribal counterparts.

(Statistics for School Education 2010-2011)

Issues and concerns

• The dropout rate of ST boys at primary school level is 37.2% as against 28.7% of their counterparts of all categories.

• The dropout rate of ST girls at primary school level is 33.9% as against 25.1% of their counterparts of all categories.

• The dropout rate of ST boys at Upper Primary school level is 54.7% as against 40.3% of their counterparts of all categories.

• The dropout rate of ST girls at Upper Primary school level is 55.4% as against 41% of their counterparts of all categories.

(Statistics for School Education 2010-2011)

Issues and concerns

• Empirical evidence suggests that tribal children possess the basic cognitive abilities and psychological dispositions for successful participation in schools.

• Poor performance of tribal students and the below average situation of primary education in tribal areas is driven by inter-related factors

Internal Issues

Internal issues are intrinsic to the structure of the education system:

1.Language of instruction

2.Curriculum Content

3.Teacher Training

4.Community participation & ownership

5.Incentives

1. Language of Instruction

• Tribal children of Odisha have reported to face language related problems during initial years of schooling (class- I and II).

• Tribal students did not show interest to pursue formal education in their home language (s).

(Pradhan and Pattanaik, 2011)

Some Initiatives• Andhra Pradesh has created bilingual dictionaries, and

developed literature in the form of songs, stories, fact books on environment, festivals, games, etc.

• Odisha, under MLE program, has provided primers to tribal children, supported by picture dictionary, teacher’s handbook, conversational charts etc.

• Gujarat has developed dictionaries in Dangi and Bhili dialects.

• Supplementary TLMs for tribal children has been developed in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh using folk tales, songs, proverbs, riddles.

2. Curriculum Content

• Research in child development and pedagogy has indicated that a young child learns concepts better if these are embedded in contexts.

• Curriculum should be culturally sensitive and provide viable options for life.

Multi-grade Multi-level Curriculum• Approximately 80% of rural schools are multi-

grade • The Rishi Valley Institute for Educational

Resources (RIVER), Andhra Pradesh has multi-grade multi-level pedagogy

3. Teacher Training

There is a need for attitudinal training of teachers• Tribal children are docile.• Non-tribal children are good in Mathematics. • Tribal language is not the language of power. • Tribal language is not spoken or used by others. • Tribal language is parochial, and not recognized. • Spoken language is limited to the community.• Tribal language is inferior to the regional language. • Tribal girls are slow in comprehension compared to boys.

(Mishra, 2007)

Initiatives• Rupantar in Odisha (Attitudinal training)• Training on Material Use under SSA• Multi-lingual & multi-cultural pedagogy• Multi-grade & multi-level pedagogy (RIVER)• RIVER provides hands-on training, inter alia,

on the materials use, e.g. teachers manuals, trainers modules, films, etc.

4. Community Participation and Ownership

• Youth tribal educators and tribal teachers from the community can act as agents of change.

• Innovative ways of eliciting participation from communities have to be devised

Key elements for effective community participation:

• Obtain trust of Local Stakeholders• Assure Community Participation• Instill Sense of Accountability and Ownership

among Children and Parents• Empower Communities to demand for quality

education

Select Initiatives of Community Participation• Bodh tries to ensure community by arranging interaction between

and amongst the stakeholders of education• Odisha encouraged community participation in sourcing language

materials for tribal primers • Assam involved community in documentation of local folklore,

history, traditional medicine etc.• Seva Mandir involves parents by collecting a monthly fee of Rs. 5,

thus increasing their stake in the child’s education• In Lok Jumbish in Rajasthan, community members took charge of

identifying and enrolling out-of-school children, and of recruiting local persons to conduct classes

5. Incentives

1. Scholarships

2. Remedial coaching

3. Free school uniform

4. Free textbooks and learning materials

5. Mid-day meals

• Introduction of different incentives like free uniforms, textbooks and boarding and lodging facilities resulted in higher enrolment of SC and ST students, including girls

(Sharma,1984; Pradhan & Pattanaik, 2011).

• Not sufficient in themselves to enhance children’s access to quality education

(Ramachandran et. al., 2007)

External Issues

External issues lie outside the education system, e.g.

1.Gender Bias

2.Access

3.Migration of Parents

1. Gender Bias

• Gender bias places tribal girls at a disadvantage at all levels of education.

• Tribal girls have a higher tendency to drop-out and a lower tendency to enroll in school.

• School attendance for tribal girls is below that of tribal boys.

• In many tribal communities, parents give minimal importance to girls education due to economic and social limitations (Pradhan, 2001)

2. Access

1. Physical access to schooling in tribal areas is often difficult mainly due to:

• Geographic conditions • Sparse population• Remoteness of the tribal village• Migratory patterns of tribals

2. In tribal areas, there is reliance on non-formal/Alternative education

3. Migration of Parents

• Children of migrant workers are deprived of the basic child right.

• Seasonal migration has become common in several tribal areas.

• Migrant populations are mostly from tribal communities

• Children tend to accompany their parents, drop out of school and are forced into hard labor at work sites.

Innovative Education support programs: • Seasonal hostels • Ashram/residential schools• Mobile teachers • Education training for migrant mothers

Conclusion

• Education system is currently designed for the dominant group,

• There needs to create support mechanisms that supplement the integration of tribal children into the formal education system:

• Using both tribal and state languages during the pre-primary and primary levels

• Creating supplementary tribal relevant learning materials

• Introducing monetary/non-monetary incentives for teachers in tribal areas

Conclusion

• Addressing the health and nutritional needs of tribal children

• Improving community participation by training tribal teachers and youth

• Establishing and strengthening transitional education centres which focus on mainstreaming tribal children

• Creating seasonal hostels and residential schools for children of migratory parents