Education Among Scheduled TribesK. Sujatha*

The Indian Constitution identifies for special consider-ation certain ethnic minority groups, traditionally re-ferred to as tribes or tribals, as Scheduled Tribes (STs)who constitute around 8 per cent of the total populationof the country. There are 573 STs living in different partsof the country. Most of the tribal communities have theirown languages different from the language spoken in thestate where they are located. There are more than 270such languages. The tribal languages in India belong toall major language families among which the Austric, theDravidian, Tibeto-Chinese, and Indo European familiesare the dominant ones.

One of the distinguishing features of STs is that themajority of them live in scattered habitations located ininterior, remote, and inaccessible hilly and forest areasof the country. Nearly 22 per cent of tribal habitationshave less than 100 population and more than 40 per centhave 100 to less than 300 people, while others have lessthan 500 people. Though tribals constitute only 8 per centof Indian population, they constitute a majority in severalstates and union territories and sizeable population inothers. In particular, they constitute an overwhelmingmajority in Mizoram (94.75 per cent), Lakshadweep(93.15 per cent), Nagaland (87.70 per cent), andMeghalaya (85.53 per cent). However, the states ofMadhya Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat,Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal account for83 per cent of the total tribal population, even thoughnon-tribals constitute the majority in these states.

POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES

Recognizing that the STs count among the most deprived

* The author would like to appreciate and thank Mr M.Sreenivasa Rao, National Institute of Educational Planning andAdministration for his help and assistance in data analysis andpreparation of tables.

and marginalized sections of Indian society, a host ofwelfare and developmental measures have been initiatedfor their social and economic development. In thisregard, particular reference has to be made to the tribalsub-plan approach which came into existence as the mainstrategy from the Fifth Five Year Plan. Along with coreeconomic sectors, elementary education has been ac-corded priority in the tribal sub-Plan approach. Elemen-tary education is considered important, not only becauseof constitutional obligation, but as a crucial input fortotal development of tribal communities, particularly tobuild confidence among the tribes to deal with outsiderson equal terms. Since primacy was accorded to elemen-tary education, a broad policy frame for education wasadopted in the tribal sub-Plans according equal impor-tance to quantitative and qualitative aspects of education.

A second important development in the policy towardseducation of tribals came with recommendations of theNational Policy on Education (NPE) in 1986 whichspecified, among other things, the following:

• Priority will be accorded to opening primary schoolsin tribal areas.• There is need to develop curricula and devise instruc-tional material in tribal language at the initial stages witharrangements for switchover to regional languages.• Promising ST youths will be encouraged to take upteaching in tribal areas.• Ashram schools/residential schools will be establishedon a large scale in tribal areas.• Incentive schemes will be formulated for the STs,keeping in view their special needs and lifestyle.

The unique feature of the policy is its recognition ofthe heterogeneity and diversity of tribal areas. The policyalso proposed the transformation of the structure ofprimary education with special emphasis on improving

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India Education Report by K SujathaCED code- B.N21. G1

88 D INDIA EDUCATION REPORT

access in tribal areas. The policy has also underlined theimportance of instruction through the mother tongue foreffective teaching and encouraged incorporating locallyrelevant content and curriculum, besides emphasizing thelocalized production of textbooks in local dialects. Basedon these considerations, the norms for establishingprimary schools wei;e relaxed to suit tribal areas in orderto improve access to education. For instance, AndhraPradesh has gone to the extent of establishing schoolsin habitations where there are even twenty school-agechildren; Madhya Pradesh has steadily decreased popu-lation size norms in order to open schools in habitationswith 200 population. However, in spite of such relax-ation of norms many tribal localities are still withoutschool, as they do not meet even the relaxed criteria.

PROGRESS IN LITERACY

Literacy is an important and primary index of educationaldevelopment. This section provides data on the actualposition of literacy among the tribals in terms of decadalgrowth rates, gap between tribal and non-tribal popula-tion (see Figure 7.1), inter-tribal variations etc. It willalso highlight inter-state, inter-group, and gender varia-tions in tribal literacy.

Literacy Rates

1971

SC

1981

Rest of thePopulation

1991

falls well below the national average. In fact, data revealthat STs behind even SCs in educational progress.

It is found that the degree and level of educationaldevelopment have been quite uneven among differentstates and among different segments of population withinany given state. The data indicate that some of the stateswith higher tribal concentration in relation to their totalpopulation have done exceedingly well in terms of higherliteracy rate. States in the north-eastern region of Indialike Mizoram, Nagaland, and Meghalaya fall in thiscategory. But in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa,Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh, which are inhabited bymuch larger numbers of tribals than the north-easternstates, tribal literacy continues to be very low. In 1971tribal literacy in Madhya Pradesh was at 7.62 per cent,increasing marginally to 10.68 per cent by 1981 andstanding at 21.54 per cent as per the 1991 census figures.The figures are similar for Bihar, Orissa, and AndhraPradesh. In fact, Andhra Pradesh has the lowest triballiteracy rate in the country at 17.16 in 1991.

But what is important is the growth of the literacyrate between 1981 and 1991. The growth rate was steadybetween 1971 and 1981, but increased significantlyduring 1981-91. The trend is visible even in relativelybackward states like Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Another

Gap between Rest of the Population

35 -

30 -

25 -

20 -

15 -

10 -

5 •

01971 1981

ST

1991

SC

FIGURE 7.1: Gap between Tribals and the Rest of the Population

Source: Census 1971, 1981, 1991.

The data on literacy from 1971 to 1991 show thatliteracy rate for STs has gone up from a low of 11.30in 1971 to 29.50 in 1991. But the increase in literacy ratedoes not express overall growth of educational standard.In fact, even though in absolute numbers the illiterateshave increased over the years, the gap between ST andnon-ST population has also increased from 22.50 to33.05 between 1971 and 1991. Even today tribal literacy

factor that needs mention is that though educationallydeveloped states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnatakahave higher general literacy rates, they are way behindthe smaller and tribal-concentrated states in terms oftribal literacy rates. On the whole, disparity amongvarious states in terms of tribal literacy rates is prettyhigh, ranging between 82.27 per cent in Mizoram and17.16 per cent in Andhra Pradesh.

92 • INDIA EDUCATION REPORT

LEARNER ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS

Almost all the studies on learner achievement levels inIndia have shown that tribal students in primary classeshave lower achievement compared to non-tribals (seeGovinda and Varghese, 1993, Varghese 1994, Sujatha1998, Prakash et al. 1998). The low achievement levelsamong tribals were attributed to school-related variablesas in the case of non-tribal students. However, tribalstudents had additional disadvantages arising out ofsocial and locational factors (see Sujatha 1998). A silverlining in this regard is that the achievement levels oftribal children showed slight improvement during theperiod from 1993 to 1998 as revealed by the baselinestudies conducted under the DPEP (see Prakash 1998).Table 7.2 provides data on achievement levels of STstudents in three states.

TABLE 7.2

Achievement Levels (class I) of ST Studentsin Different States

nDistricts

'I!

•

SatnaRewaSidhiTikamgarhChattarpurPanna

|AurangabadNandedParbhani

DarrangDhubriKarbi AnglongMorigan

1994-5

Language Mathe-matics

1997-8

Language

MADHYA PRADESH

3.654.184.543.933.392.37

1.582.742.352.132.161.45

MAHARASHTRA

5.213.795.46

3.242.793.14

ASSAM

5.584.585.355.705.154.60

7.245.676.27

12.3212.12

NA15.12

Mathe-matics

3.724.515.047.125.295.24

6.355.026.27

7.1510.11NA10.34

Source: NCERT (1996) and Prakash et al. (1998).

However, this marginal improvement is not sufficient toachieve educational parity in terms of levels of achieve-ment between tribal and non-tribal students and it mustbe admitted that tribal students still have low achievementlevels and fall a long way behind the expected levels.The tribal and non-tribal gap in achieving competencyis very big, to say the least. This is a major concern andrequires strategic intervention.

PROBLEMS OF TRIBAL EDUCATION

This review clearly underlines that in spite of constitu-tional guarantees and persistent efforts, tribal communi-

ties continue to lag behind the general population ineducation. The reasons for this can be categorized asexternal, internal, and socio-economic and psychologi-cal. The external constraints are related to problems anddifficulties at levels of policy, planning, implementation,and administration. Internal constraints refer to problemsassociated with the school system, content, curriculum,medium of instruction, pedagogy, academic supervision,monitoring, and teacher-related problems. The third setof problems relates to social, economic, and culturalbackground of tribals and psychological problems offirst-generation learners.

External Constraints

The perspective adopted for educational developmentamong tribal communities fails to adequately address thespecific disadvantages characterizing tribal population.For instance, the population and distance norms formedby the government have not been beneficial to triballocations because of their sparse population and sporadicresidential patterns. Further, in formulating policies andprogrammes for tribal education it is essential to under-stand the complex realities of tribal life and the expec-tation of tribals from the system, and this has never beendone either by the tribal welfare department or by theeducation department. Consequently, no worthwhilepolicy for tribal education has been formed.

One of the major constraints of tribal education atplanning level is the adoption of a dual system ofadministration. The tribal welfare department dealswith tribal life and culture and administers developmentwork at the local level, including education. But the tribalwelfare department lacks expertise in educational plan-ning and administration in general, and academic super-vision and monitoring in particular. On the other hand,the education department is the sole authority forplanning of educational development at state level. Itformulates implementation guidelines and instructionsregarding curriculum, textbooks, teacher recruitment,transfer policies, and so on. In this the department tendsto formulate uniform policies for the entire state. Theschool calendar is a case in point, where vacations andholidays cater to the needs of the formal school set upin a non-tribal context, with little consideration for localcontext and tribals festivals. This lack of sensitivity totheir problems and failure in understanding tribal socialreality, coupled with faulty selection and appointment ofteachers in tribal areas, have resulted in poor perfor-mance and teacher absenteeism in tribal schools.

Under the system of dual administration, absence ofcoordination and complimentarity as well as inadequatescope for reciprocal use of respective expertise and

EDUCATION AMONG SCHEDULED TRIBES • 93

experiences between the two departments has invariablystunted educational development among tribals.

Internal Constraints

The internal problems of tribal education refer to thequality of school provision, suitable teachers, relevanceof content and curriculum, medium of instruction,pedagogy, and special supervision. A majority of schoolsin tribal areas are without basic infrastructure facilities.Normally, school buildings in tribal areas have thatchedroofs, dilapidated walls, and non-plastered floors. Re-search evidence shows that a large number of tribalschools do not have teaching-learning materials, or evenblackboards. In tribal areas the opening of a school isequated with the posting of a teacher and same is thecase with 'ashram' schools. It is found that in most ofashram schools which are residential in nature, there isno space for the children to sleep. Consequently, theclassroom turns into the dormitory and vice versa. Dueto lack of minimum sanitary provisions, it is notuncommon to find that many children studying in ashramschools are afflicted with contagious diseases like scabiesand diarrhoea, leading to high drop-out rates. Schoolsin tribal areas just function with bare minimum facilities.

CONTENT AND CURRICULUM

Though the demand for changing the content andcurriculum to suit the tribal context has been an oldone, no serious effort has been made in this directionin any state, except for some sporadic pilot projects. Theuniform structure and transaction of curriculum has puttribal children at a disadvantage. In respect of pedagogy,it has been found that the rigid systems of formalschooling, which emphasize discipline, routine norms,teacher-centred instruction, etc. have made the childrenwary of school. This goes against the culture of freeinteraction and absence of force as embedded in tribalethos and culture prevalent at home. This has led to sharpdivision between home and school leading to lack ofinterest among the children towards school, and researchfindings have shown this as a major factor behind non-enrolment.

Another area is the inherent fear of tribal childrentowards the teacher, and their inability to establish acommunication link with the teacher and this is reflectedin low attendance and high dropout rates. This could betackled to a great extent by using the regional languageas the medium of instruction. The Constitution of Indiaallows the use of tribal dialect (mother tongue) as themedium of instruction in case the population of the saidtribe is more than one lakh. But this has not been adoptedon the grounds of feasibility and viability of introducing

and sustaining such a change. In recent years, someefforts have been made for preparing primers in tribaldialects but again they have been nullified in the contextof inter-tribal rivalry, hierarchy, etc, and also, being ona very small scale, are incapable of influencing main-stream practices.

Socio-economic and Cultural Constraints

In a broad sense, these socio-economic and culturalfactors can be outlined as poverty and poor economicconditions, social customs, cultural ethos, lack of aware-ness and understanding of the value of formal education,conflict and gap between the home and school, etc.Studies on educational deprivation of tribals have inevi-tably linked it to their poor economic condition andpoverty. The main occupation of tribals is agriculture,practised either through shifting cultivation or terracecultivation where productivity remains very low. Con-sequently, children play an important role, contributingdirectly or indirectly to family income by participatingin the family occupation and household works like cattlegrazing and fuel and fodder collection, etc.

Even though elementary education is deemed free andadditional incentives are given to children, in practice,it is not free due to several reasons. First, the incentiveschemes do not have full coverage, and thus, havelimited value at community level. Second, many of thebenefits do not reach the beneficiaries. Third, eventhough incentives like slates and uniforms are given, theyare of poor quality and do not reach in time, thusnullifying the entire purpose. It should be noted that theimpoverished economic status of tribals makes even thesmall amount of private expenditure involved in procur-ing writing material, clothing, etc a serious burden onthe family. Under these circumstances, it is not surpris-ing if education is not given priority. In an economydominated by struggle for survival, options are limited.Since education does not provide any visible and imme-diate benefit and tribals do not see beyond their presentstate, the participation of tribal children in educationalso becomes limited. Another reason for low participa-tion is the opportunity cost involved, as the majorityof non-enrolled children are required to work in house-holds or family occupations. Even if the economiccontribution of children is indirect, they certainly facili-tate the participation of parents in economic activity.

In recent years the efforts of the government havebeen directed towards improving economic conditions oftribes by introducing various developmental programmesand schemes, mostly related to agriculture, horticulture,and cattle rearing, backed by subsidies and monetary andnon-monetary inputs. A critical analysis of development

94 • INDIA EDUCATION REPORT

» f;

\ •

programmes and their effect on tribal households showsthat till tribal households reach a threshold level ofincome and land size, the economic developmentprogrammes can come into conflict with other activitieslike education. In a way it can be said that thesedevelopment programmes seem to be adversely affectingthe education of tribal children (see Sujatha 1994).

Box 7.1 provides the specific example of conflictbetween education and short-term economics amongtribals in Andhra Pradesh.

Box 7.1Development versus Education

In order to introduce permanent cultivation amongshifting cultivators, the Government initiated orange andcoffee plantation under the horticulture scheme in AndhraPradesh. For this, the households were given two acresof forest land, and orange plants were supplied free ofcost. For taking care of the plants, they were paid Rs 100per month in the form of rice and other things. With somepersuasion the tribals accepted the scheme as it hadvisible monetary benefit as well as getting some moreland. But accepting a new scheme in addition to theirtraditional cultivation, means demand for more labour,which, in turn, brings change in the structure in thefamily labour. Work distribution pattern among themembers of the household plays a crucial role in thesuccess of the new scheme that they have accepted. Thissituation comes into conflict with the children's partici-pation in education as their help in household work orin cultivation becomes essential. In another incident, asheep rearing project was introduced and some of thetribal households were given a unit of sheep. Usually axefell on education of children. For the household, directbenefit from sheep rearing is more attractive to improvetheir economic condition than the long-term benefits ofeducation.

Source: Sujatha (1994).

Poor health is another major hindrance in the promo-tion and participation of tribal children in education.Contagious diseases like scabies, eye infection, malaria,and diarrhoea are common in tribal areas, and also affectchildren's attendance at school. Further, some tribalcommunities are seasonal migrants and this leads toabsenteeism among their children and makes it difficultfor them to effectively benefit from schooling.

PERSPECTIVES FOR THE FUTURE

Education of tribals cannot be left to short-term Planstrategies. It is important that planners take a long-termview which is embedded in a meaningful policy frame-work. Following are some important points emergingfrom the review here.

• Emphasis should be on quality and equity rather thanquantity as has been the case in the past. The prime focusshould be on provision of quality education that makestribal communities economically effective and indepen-dent.

• In the tribal context, it is essential that the schoolschedule be prepared as per local requirement rather thanfollowing a directive from the state. It has been foundthat vacations. and holidays are planned without takinginto consideration local contexts, and thereby, unneces-sarily antagonize tribal communities and keep them outof school.

• Though it has been highlighted time and again, noconcrete step has been taken to provide locally rele-vant material to tribal students. Availability of locallyrelevant materials will not only facilitate faster learningbut also help children develop a sense of affiliation toschool.

• In order to make education effective and sustainable,building partnership between the community and thegovernment is important. Results from pilot projects inAndhra Pradesh show that community partnership notonly augments state expenditure on education but alsoguarantees supervision and monitoring, thus addressingan intractable problem for the state.

• Environment building is of immense importance in thecontext of educational development among tribal com-munities. Community awareness and community mobi-lization, which are its core elements, should receiveadequate importance and attention.

• Decentralization of education management is anotheraspect that needs special consideration in the contextof tribal areas. In fact, considering the geographicalterrain and communication problems in tribal areas, itis crucial to restructure the existing system of educationalmanagement. Adaptation of structures such as schoolcomplexes and VECs to tribal areas needs careftilconsideration.

• Skill development, competency building, and teachersmotivation also need to be strengthened for sustainingeducational development. The teacher should be madethe centre of educational transformation, and therefore,must remain the primary facilitator.

REFERENCES

Department of Education (1968). National Policy on Edu-cation. Ministry of Human Resource Development,Government of India, New Delhi.

(1986). National Policy on Education. Ministryof Human Resource Development, Government ofIndia, New Delhi.