INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
to ensure "quality education" and proper facilities, including schools and hostels, for those belonging to scheduled tribes and said that
reservation in government institutions and jobs alone is not the solution to their problems
They also urged the central government to formulate policies on the "basis of ground realities" for the welfare of tribal children.Tribal
students from across the country participated in a convention organised by the Adivasi Adhikar Manch and the Centre for Adivasi Research and
Development here on Saturday to highlight their issues."Please tell the government that we are not getting a quality education
There are no schools in some tribal areas
Even if there are, there are no teachers
The government talks about reservation (in jobs), but what will we do if we do not get a proper education" asked Sunil Tirki from
and other states, also complained about poor hostel facilities at residential government schools
They said that hostels do not have proper drinking water and toilet facilities
At some places, there are no ceiling fans
So, the students sleep in the open during summers
"Sometimes, we have to fetch water from nearby wells
Very often students fall sick and return home, as there are no proper medical facilities available for us," Lata Soren, a tribal student
from Chattisgarh, said.The organisers claimed that because of the "flawed" policy framework of the government which is detached from the
number of students attending the classes
Now, in tribal areas, this is proving to be disastrous
Because of the geographical locations of these areas, one cannot hope that Adivasi children will sustain their education without a
"That's why compared to other children, the dropout rate among tribal students is higher
If the government wants to bridge this gap, then it needs a different policy framework," Brinda Karat, CPI(M) leader and member of the
Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch, says.The students' parents, who also attended the convention, said that there are many villages which do
"I want my two children to study, but there are no schools
If they want to go to school, they need to travel miles through forests
recent survey conducted by the Adivasi Adhikar Manch and the Centre for Adivasi Research and Development, some tribal areas have recorded an
increase in the dropout rate among girl students, as not many parents feel safe to send their daughters to the schools far-off."My school is
It takes more than two hours to reach there
I am able to continue with my studies because my brother accompanies me
But there are many in my class who have stopped coming to school as they are scared to travel alone and they do not have money to pay for
the government "stop its policy of shutting down and merging schools based on the number of students attending them".(This story has not
been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
