Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Tribal students face uncertain future

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The future of over 18,500 children hailing from the tribal and coastal areas across the State hangs in the balance as the Union government funds allotted for their education have dried up.

The money, nearly Rs.2 crore, disbursed annually through the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) had played a major role in sustaining the 484 Alternative Innovative Education Centres that imparted customised elementary education to children belonging to the tribal and coastal communities in the State. The SSA is a national programme launched in 2003 with the intention of achieving universal elementary education.

However, since July this year, the monetary demands of these centres have been met from the coffers of the SSA by diverting the funds allocated for its various State-level activities such as teacher and computer training programmes and education for girls and backward caste students.

This arrangement is ad hoc and unless the State government intervened and provided necessary financial support, the education programme will be badly hit, says a senior official of the SSA.

The Central assistance for the alternative centres has been annulled in an attempt to formalise the centres by converting them into schools. But many, including the SSA official, are sceptical of the move. The success of the alternative education system is due its informal and flexible approach to education, and the moment it is formalised it will die, the official cautions.

Every alternative centre consists of a motley group of children of varying ages who are intellectually competent to study up to class IV. Since there is no class-wise segregation like that in schools, a 14-year-old will be able to complete his education in a year’s time if he/she desires. The centres have a combined strength of 18,760. Out of this, 9,000 are from the tribal areas and the rest from the coastal regions.

Unlike students from the coastal region, the main problem confronted by students from the tribal areas is accessibility to school. They have to walk up to 15 km, often braving imminent attacks from wild beasts, to reach the nearest school. A formalised system of education complete with the marking of attendance on a daily basis will not work in the tribal context. Moreover, the teachers too are reluctant to work in a tribal environment, the CESS official said. Most of the candidates from the tribal areas who were given training in teaching by the State government in 1997 got themselves relocated to better places.

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