Education of SC / ST

Budget 2008-09
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas are quality schools. In order to make such schools more accessible to SC and ST students, Government plans to establish Navodaya Vidyalayas in 20 districts that have a large concentration of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. I propose to set apart Rs.130 crore in 2008-09 for this purpose.

Social Category Gaps

Share of SC students

Share of ST students

The share of SC and ST students is higher than the proportion of SC and ST children in the population. For ST children, however their share comes down at the upper primary stage .

Gender Gaps – Social Group-wise

The gender gap for SC and ST students is higher than for all students. The gender gap for ST students is significantly higher

Dropout Rates (SC)

Dropout Rates (ST)

Dropout Rate (Primary)

Thus dropout rates for SC and ST students are significantly higher than the overall dropout rate. The dropout rate for ST students is much higher. Also this is declining very slowly compared to overall dropout rate and the dropout rate for SC students

Education of SC / ST : Government Interventions

Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Children
The section on ‘Progress towards achievement of SSA goals’ that – educational
indicators such as enrolments, retention and transition rates for SC and ST children lag
behind those for children belonging to other categories

Children from these communities are also disproportionately represented among other
categories of children who have been identified as vulnerable where their education is
concerned. These include the urban and rural poor, migrants, out of school girls, child
workers, and `deprived urban children. Among children with disability, those coming
from SC and ST and other marginal groups are likely to be educationally most `at risk’.
Though poverty is a major constraint in the education of SC and ST, children from
these communities face specific disadvantages in their education and these must be
given serious attention. For SC children these stem from the social discrimination,
segregation and lack of access to resources and opportunities that they face because of
their status. For ST communities it is their experience of relative isolation and neglect,
destruction of their way of life and cultural difference that has led to disadvantages in
education.

Hitherto the emphasis has largely been on expanding physical access to schooling for
SC and ST children by relaxing norms for establishing schools in tribal and SC
habitations and encouraging enrolment by meeting some of the costs of schooling. It
will be important for the plan to integrate access and quality informed by the principle
of equity or fairness by addressing the specific disadvantages that these children face.
Where incentives are concerned, we need to view them as strategies that encourage as
well as enable parents to send children to school and from the perspective of the child,
that make schools an attractive place for them. Thus improvement of the quality of
education would in itself become the most crucial incentive for children to go to school

Ultimately it would mean that school must become inclusive so that they are able to
address disadvantage and diversity in education and cater to the needs of every child.
Interventions in education to address these issues however should not be `stand alone’
programmes/strategies but must be linked with and facilitated by the overall efforts to
universalise enrolment and retention in schools and improve their quality.

Scheduled Caste Children
While access to schools at the primary stage is now almost universal, there are
gaps at the upper primary stage. Provision of adequate upper primary schools in all
areas, including SC areas to promote the retention of older SC children especially SC
girls. It is also important to ensure that the schools available in the neighborhood of
SC habitations have minimum norms of infrastructure, other facilities and teachers.
One of the most appropriate interventions for ensuring better participation of
disadvantaged groups is to ensure that local schools are well provided for, especially
with required number of teachers and function regularly

Incentives such as free textbooks and Mid-Day Meals must continue. Stationery,
uniforms and transport (for upper primary schools at a distance) would be additional
important incentives that could be considered by the States / UTs. The coverage of
existing incentives like scholarships by State Govts., the monthly / annual amount of
those scholarship and the regularity of the payment need to be monitored.

Discrimination against SC children because of their caste status as reflected in
school practices and teacher attitudes adversely affect the quality of schooling that
children receive. These have to be seriously dealt with in individual schools,
monitored at the community level and in also addressed at the level of teacher
education. The effort toward building inclusive schools (where teachers understand
and are sensitive to issues of social disadvantage) must be an integral part of
teacher education and not relegated to add on components in training programmes

Scheduled Tribe Children
Physical access to schooling, especially at the upper primary stage is still an issue
in some parts of the country in remote tribal areas. A targeted coverage of all
eligible habitations for upper primary school facilities should be a priority in the first
two years of the 11th Plan. In some remote, sparsely populated areas, it may be
difficult to setup primary schools due to the small number of children. Two options
need to be implemented for such areas. One, small schools (with one teacher) need
to be set up in such habitations. Such schools should be recognized in the State /
UT’s education policy or Code so that these institutions can be sustained after the
close of the programme. Two, adequate residential schools need to be provided at
locations that can provide access to a group of small habitations

Hostels are critical for children coming from educationally deprived communities to access middle levels of school education. These facilities need to be expanded. It is recommended that 1000 hostels may be set up during the 11th Plan period to identified ST areas. 500 of these may be funded under SSA and the rest through convergence with the programmes of Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Some of the hostels could be provided utilizing the Backward Regions Grant Fund in 200 districts of the country, many of which would include tribal areas. Hostels need to be monitored for the quality of services offered and security provided especially for girls.

Seasonal migration is common in several tribal areas. Facilities like seasonal hostels should be provided in all such blocks with high incidence of migration to help retaining children in the village when the parents migrate.

In some very remote tribal pockets, for example in North-eastern States, teachers posted to schools are unable to get local accommodation on rent. States / UTs should consider approaching the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for providing funds for construction of teachers quarters. The RIDF loan facility through NABARD could be expanded to include teachers quarters in some pockets.

Teacher absenteeism is a major problem in remote, tribal areas. The shift to selection of local
teachers at village, Panchayat and block level has helped to some extent. But there is a need to improve monitoring and supervision in tribal districts and blocks to help improve teacher attendance and school functioning.

Majority of schools in tribal areas have only 2 or 3 teachers. It is therefore important to equip
teachers in such areas with skills for conducting multigrade and multilevel teaching. This would also require modified teaching – learning materials including workbooks etc.

Special emphasis must be placed on teachers who are appropriately qualified and trained to teach in tribal dominated schools. The emphasis must be both on their skills, competencies as well as their understanding on the context of deprivation, discrimination and an appreciation of cultural difference in relation to their students.

In some tribal areas where qualified teachers are not available, there must be a special effort to create a cardre of teachers from among tribal youth who complete class XII and undergo a two year teacher education program as per NCTE norms. (These would be regular, qualified and not para teachers). DIETs in tribal dominated area can offer such a teacher education programme. This link between school and a teaching can encourage retention in schools as parents see teaching as a career for their children.

The policy of providing primary education in the child’s mother tongue, as enshrined in the
Constitution as well as in the NPE 1986 and the NCF 2005 needs to be implemented. Bilingual / multilingual education programmes that start with education in the child’s mother tongue and then transit to the regional / State language and English need to be implemented on a larger scale, especially in remote tribal areas. Presently Andhra Pradesh and Orissa are implementing such programmes in 8-10 tribal languages on a pilot basis. The strategy involves intensive work for creation of curricular materials, training of teachers, academic support, evaluation and community involvement. SSA should provide for such specific interventions.

In general, for tribal areas teaching-learning materials need to incorporate the life-situations of
children to which they can relate. This work can be done best by DIETs in identified districts after receiving specific orientation and human resources for this purpose. BRCs and CRCs in such areas could also contribute to this process. The NCF 2005 strongly recommends the use of local context in the materials and teaching-learning process. The orientation of teachers in such areas would also need to focus on issues of attitude and bias regarding tribal children and knowledge of local sociocultural situation.

Certain tribal groups, e.g. denotified tribes, nomadic tribes that moves from place to place and
primitive tribal groups (PTG) would need special attention because of their specific live situations.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is in the process of consolidating schemes for supporting primary
education to make a more comprehensive scheme that could complement SSA and fill any gaps, especially those relating to infrastructure in identified tribal dominated districts and blocks. SSA could play an important role in guiding the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the States / UTs in identifying needs in specific districts and blocks and ensuring convergent implementation.

Education of SC / ST : NGO Interventions

Samajik Navnirman Sanstha (SNS)
Samajik Navnirman Sanstha (SNS) is a grass-root organization which provides after-school educational classes and computer education/services in villages dominated by dalit (SC/ST) community

This project has 2 components. First is to provide after school classes to the children in the age group of 9 to 16 in 8 villages in mainly dalit community. The after school classes also include health education and other community activites such as Karate Classes, Rangalo training, and Patha Natya (theater performed on the street which deals with various social issues). SNS also manages 800 book library and women's small savings scheme.

The second part of the project is about using Information Technology(IT) to bridge the digital devide and achieve socio-economical change using IT resources. This involves providing IT education to school children, village youth and masses. This also involves data capturing, identifying various social issues, and forming village expert committes in identified subjects to solve various social problems using technology.

Education for Dalit Children

The Viveka Tribal Center for Learning (VTCL), at Hosahalli, has grown from athatched hut with a few students to a government recognized semi-residential school imparting quality education to over 400 children; helping them fit into the mainstream while retaining pride in, and contact with, their tribal heritage.The VTCL today trains teachers from other schools, develops teaching aids, and enhances children's lives with innovative concepts like joyful learning, experiential learning and activity based learning.

Agragamee
Agragamee began a programme of education with funding from the Ministry of Human Resources in the year 1988 from hundred and fifty schools in Kashipur, and other selected tribal districts of Orissa, the programme has now expanded to cover 208 schools in seven districts of Orissa.

In the last 14 years of Agragamee's intervention for primary education in tribal areas, several innovations have been taken up, several new paths have been explored. The mixed bag of results has taught us much. The most rewarding feedback has perhaps been in positive response of the people and children to the programme in general. Much more than our calls for contribution and participation, people have come forward in their own ways and ensured that night schools ran well.

Agragamee's model of primary education is now being replicated by different organisations. This has led to a marked increase in the demand for better, more efficient functioning of formal education, and an improvement in self-image in the villages, where the schools have been running for some years.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES


The universalisation of primary education in remote tribal areas.

To build up public pressure for quality education and its effective delivery.

To mobilise and use local resources, skills and knowledge in developing a viable alternative model for education in tribal areas.

To involve the community in issues and questions concerning primary and development education.

To develop a viable model of education in tribal areas that can be replicated, and be taken up by the community for effective follow-up.

To provide the necessary impetus for a people-centred and sustainable development through ensuring access to basic education for all.

VAT (Vanavasi Ashram Trust)
Tribal School
The proposed project is to fund the 9th/10th standard educational needs of the first batch of 30 children at the school. Since they do not receive govt. support, these children would not be able to continue at the school without external support.
Goal
Provide secondary school (9th/10th) education needs to the first batch of graduates from middle school. Since the govt. has not recognized the VAT for secondary school, they do not receive grant support from the ministry of tribal affairs for their needs. AID will sponosor the educational requirements for the first batch of children in the hopes that the school will get recognition in the coming year.
Achievements
Status as of 02/2004 - Currently, 21 of the 30 children sponsored for 9th/10th are giving their SSLC board
exams which will take place on March 10th, 2004.

Vanavasi Ashram
The trust has been running a school, Paazhasi Raja Tribal Vidyalaya, since 1997-98. Currently, the school has 213 students, out of which 207 are tribal children. There are 128 boys and 85 girls. These children are currently in grades 1-8. The curriculum followed in the school is the one prescribed by the Kerala state board of education. The system of education is similar to a 'Gurukul', where the students and teachers live together and share their experiences like a family. The students, teachers and parents work together to grow vegetables, tapioca, banana and pulses. Students are taught stitching, tailoring, basket making, clay modeling, mat making, music, yoga and archery.

As it is a tribal area, archery is given due importance. Achery competitions are held for men, women and children every year. The trust has been running the school for the last 4 years. Today there is a signigicant change in their attitude towards education and health care . Most of the tribal children in the school are healthy. Children talented in music and folk arts are encouraged to develop their talents by the school.

Vanashree Trust
This project provides primary education to tribal children belonging to Lombani, Gonda and Kudumbi tribes in the Bachodi village/forest in Sagar taluka, Karnataka.

The school, run by Vanashree trust, provides education to children from class I to VII. The school is a residential school, wherein the school children reside in the school premises. Education provided is formal, and instruction is provided in Kannada, the local language. There are presently 120 students, some of them orphans, who reside in the school, which also has a few day scholars. After class VII, the children of Bachodi school go to Sagar school, which has classes VIII to X. The school is also run by Vanashree trust. Sagar is connected to Bachodi, which is about 70 km away, by three daily buses.

The chief economic activity of the tribals in Bachodi is basket making.

Sanskriti O Samaj Unnayan Parishad
With Asha's support SSUP is now running 17 Shishu Shiksha Kendras (Children Learning Centers) for Non-Formal Education for the last three years. There are about 25 children in each center. The schools are in blocks with very low literacy levels (31% for males and 16% for females) with a large population belonging to socially deprived classes. The funds are used for educational materials for the children (about 110 boys and 133 girls), training teachers from the villages themselves, holding cultural programs for the children and taking them to educational camps outside their villages. The criteria for student selection are that they have no other source of education and they come from a socially and economically backward or minority community. SSUP does not charge any fee from the students.

Sri Sarada Sangha
The aim of the group is to provide an ideal environment for children from the tribal areas of the chotanagpur area to become educated and take on the challenges of life with more confidence

Project Description
The school hopes to act as a bridge between the public/private schools and the children, inculcating among them the concept of education. The literacy rate among tribal men is negligible, and zero among women. The children are brought up in an extremely unhealthy atmosphere of alcoholism, gambling and other negative influences. The school hopes to act as a bridge between the public/private schools and the children, inculcating among them the concept of education. The school is also planning to introduce medicare system so that they can tackle seasonal sickness and control rates of absenteeism.

LEVEL OF EDUCATION
The school provides for basic literacy up to Nursery, Lower K.G. and Higher K.G. The school utilises an informal teaching methodology, which is suitable for the children who belong to the tribal and underdeveloped environment. Once our students are placed in the high schools they become a part of the mainstream of educational environment.

DETAILS
The group was brought to the notice of an Asha NYC/NJ volunteer during a visit to Jamshedpur in October 1999. The group was then requested to submit a project proposal, which was duly sent and reviewed by Asha-NYC/NJ in December '99. Currently Asha-NYC/NJ, with the help of Asha chapters in India, is organising a more thorough site visit of the project.

Sarvodaya Parivar Trust
Sarvodaya Parivar Trust works in the remote tribal regions of Gujarat and conducts residential schools for children in surrounding villages.
Pindval lies on a high mountain plateau covering a large 30-km. X 30-km. region populated by tribal Adivasi farmers. In 1994, Dolatsinh Parmar started the Sarvodaya Vidyalaya residential school teaching a small group of 40 boys in standard I.

In addition to teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic, they also teach geography, science, and some music. The education also involves training skills in weaving, cloth-making, and gardening/farming. Basic living code such as cleanliness, cooking, grooming, and manners are also instilled in the children.

There are more students who want to attend the school but there is not enough funding or enough room to house the children. The school built one building on the school grounds to house the sixty-odd children.

Singhbhum Legal Aid and Devel. Soc
Sustainable Education for Poor Tribal and Backward Children.

Project Description
The project area of 50 villages is populated mostly by poor tribals and economically backward communities. For the 20 primary schools in the area, SLADS is the only high school, which we fund for 3 years. The school targets 70 girls and 80 boys.
Funding request of an existing high school over 3 years which draws children from the SALBONI area (50 villages, 20,000 population). The funding requested is for teaching staff salary/training, books for a library, apparatus for a laboratory, furniture, and administrative costs. The proposal requests roughly $9000 over this three year period.

Setwin Society
The project focuses on the primary school dropouts or the belated enrollment of children in the age range of 5-12 years. These children belong to the Paraiyar and Sakkilar castes who are also called as dalits. At the beginning of the proposed project, we will open 10 basic Non Formal Centers at 10 villages with a minimum of 20 children per center. After assessing of the progress of these centers, we will extend the same to another 10 villages next year and gradually cover all of our service site which comprises of about 50 hamlets. The objective of the project is twofold-
(1) To reintegrate children who have dropped out due to familial/economic pressures back into mainstream schooling
(2) To encourage a habit of schoolgoing in those villages so remote as to not have access to any mainstream schools.