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Proper education continues to elude Narikurava children

— Photo : T. Singaravelou

The Sarva Shiksha Abhyan school in the Narikurava housing colony remains closed on a weekday afternoon.

PUDUCHERRY: Schools meant for ‘narikurava’ children are not functioning regularly in Puducherry. Members of the community say that children struggle to complete even Standard VIII because of the lack of proper facilities.

According to the residents of the narikurava housing colony in Lawspet, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan alternate school located in the colony closes by noon everyday. “Attendance is taken, followed by classes for a short while, after which the children eat their lunch and return home,” Ramalingam, a narikurava, says.

“Those with ambitions often have to move to the town, stay in hostel and study. There, children who have studied up to Standard VI are often put in Standard I because of their low standard,” he says.

The school is a ‘kuchcha’ structure, made with corrugated asbestos sheets. Only recently, food stored for the students was stolen, according to the residents. A half-constructed, abandoned structure, originally intended to be a balwadi, stands alongside the school.

One has to travel three km from the nearest road, through the Karuvadikuppam garbage dump on bumpy mud paths before reaching the school. Poor access, residents say, is a major deterrent for the teachers. Around 60 children in the area are of school-going age.

Narikurava children in other parts of town, such as Mettupalayam and Madagadipet, do not even have access to a school, according to State President of the Pondicherry Scheduled Tribe People’s Federation K. Ramkumar. “Puducherry as a whole can boast a high literacy rate. But only about 20 per cent of the narikuravas are literate,” he says. Stripped of the right to pursue their traditional profession of hunting and unable to reap the benefits of education, children are forced to beg on the streets, he says. Lack of proper education is also responsible for ignorance in matters of hygiene and sanitation, he believes.

“The dropout rate of tribal children is immensely high,” says Malathi Maithri, a Child Rights and You (CRY) Fellow. “When ambitious narikurava children join mainstream schools, they are unable to cope, because of their low standard and inability to adapt to a conventional school culture. To deal with this problem, proper elementary and primary education is vital,” she says.

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