EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS OF TRIBAL CHILDREN
National Council of Educational Research & Training, New Delhi
ABSTRACT The present study aims at mapping the existing provisions for primary education in the tribal areas as well as their utilisation by the recipient population. It has been carried out in seven DPEP States viz. Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.- The aspects studied include educational infrastructure and facilities available, status of teachers in tribal areas, status of curriculum and teaching learning materials, use of tribal language, status of school enrolment and school dropout, monitoring, evaluation and community participation.
Introduction The present paper attempts to summarise some of the significant findings of the tribal study which was conducted under the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP). The study was commissioned since it was required by International Donor Agency (IDA). Reportedly, the IDA was concerned about the impact of all proposed interventions under the DPEP on tribal population in the concerned districts. It was, therefore, required that a sample survey of tribal population in the DPEP districts be carried out in order to ascertain the viewpoints of tribal parents, tribal community leaders and tribal children and teachers regarding both
* The present study has been taken from the, document Research Based Interventions in Primary Education : The DPEP Strategy (1994). National Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi.
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the availability Of primary educational facilities and subjective evaluation of such facilities. It was also required that an overview of community participation in primary education in the tribal areas in these districts be provided.
The terms of reference for the study were provided by the funding agencies. All concerned agencies such as UNICEF and the World Bank, together with the Department of Education, MHRD were consulted periodically throughout the course of the study and they were kept abreast of the progress of the study,
Objectives and Research Design
Focus of the Study The focus of the study was to map the present provisions for primary education in the tribal areas as well as their utilisation by the recipient population. At the same time the study attempted to discover the attitudes of tribal parents, opinion leaders, teachers of tribal children, administrators of tribal educational institutions as well as other community members towards both the availability of educational opportunities as well as expectations from the educational system as a whole. It was envisaged that such a focus will enable the planners at the district level to make more meaningful and direct interventions for ensuring quality education in tribal areas.
Objectives The objectives of this study were
- To carry out a sample survey of the educational infrastructure and facilities available in the tribal areas with a view to identify gaps, if any, in the available infrastructure and facilities.
- Status of teachers in tribal areas including their availability, background, qualifications, training, punctuality and problems.
- Status of curriculum in operation and the teaching learning materials being used with special reference to use of the tribal language in the writing of teaching-learning materials as well as in the classroom transaction.
- Status of monitoring and evaluation of primary education including administrative structures.
- Status of school enrolment and school dropout with special reference to factors affecting enrolment and drop-out of tribal girls.
- Status on convergence of various departments providing services and facilities in tribal areas.
- Status of community participation in the educational programme and
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management of schools.
Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected with reference to the above terms of reference,
Selection of Areas for Study The study was conducted in the tribal districts in seven States. viz., Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. The study was carried out in two districts in. each of the states. In the case of Maharashtra it was decided by the State Government to confine this study to only one district. In the case of Madaya Pradesh, four districts were selected for the present study. The study was conducted in one block in each of the selected fifteen districts on the basis of highest tribal population,
It may be noted that Madhya Pradesh and Orissa were clubbed with the other five states although these two states do not form a part of the six DPEP states being considered under the World Bank provisions. Of the six World Bank DPEP states, five (Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu) have been covered by the study. The sixth state, i.e., Haryana was excluded from the study in the absence of any significant tribal -population.
Sample The sample for the study was collected from ten villages in each of the selected blocks.
The total number of children covered in each village was 23 girls and three boys from the primary school; three girls and three boys from the NFE centre; six non-enrolled children (three girls and three boys) and two school drop-outs (one girl and one boy). In locations without an NFE centre the six children to be selected from NFE centres were selected from the school instead, making the total number of children from the primary school, 12. In villages without a primary school, 12 children were selected from the NFE centre.
All the teachers of the selected primary schools, with a maximum of five per school, and one instructor from the NFE centre were selected for the study. A sample of five pairs of parents (making the total number of parents 10) was also selected. Two male and three female members of the concerned community were also selected for collecting the data. In this manner, the maximum number of persons covered per village was 41.
Methodology A set of eight instruments was prepared for collecting the bench-mark data from
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List of Sample Blocks
States Districts Name of the Blocks Percentage of Tribal
Population
Assam 1. Darrang Udaigiri 20.16
2. Morigaon Bhurbandha 30.14
Karnataka 1. Kolar Gowribidanvir Bangarpet15.19
2. Raichur Devadurga 20.16
Kerala 1. Kasargod Kasargod 4.30
2. Wayanad Mananthavady 19.83
Madhya
Pradesh 1. Betul Bhimpura 33.79
2. Ratlam Bajana 91.02
3. Raigarh Kansaval 82.50
4. Shahdol Pushprajgarh 78.31
Maharashtra 1. Nanded Kenwat 31.92
Orissa 1. Kalahandi Thuamul 55.65
2. Rayagada Kolnara 68.75
Tamil Nadu 1. Dharmapuri Pippireddipatti 18.24
2.Thiruvannamalai Jawadhu 61.89
the field. Each instrument, except the eighth instrument, was divided into two parts. The eighth instrument has three parts. Part I was further divided into two sections, viz. Section A consisting of items for collecting quantitative data and Section B consisting of items meant for collecting qualitative data. Part I, as a whole, consisted of items which had to be answered by the respondents directly. Part I, of the questionnaire was designed to be filled in by the investigator with the help of documents/information available in that location.
Table 1 (see Annexure) provides diagrammatic details of the various tools developed for the study.
In each village of focussed group discussion was also organised by the field investigator where issues related to the objectives were discussed with the members of the community. The details of these are given in the Notes Section.
Training Manual A training manual was used by master trainers to train field investigators who collected the data from the sample villages. The training of master trainers was organised by the Department of Non- Formal Education and Education of SC/ST in the NCERT at the national level. A team of three members from each of the seven states, i.e., State Coordinator, Professional Assistant-cum-Supervisor and a Computer Assistant were trained. The state level team, in turn, trained the field, investigators in the respective states with the help of one person from DNFEESC/ ST.
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Status Report In addition to the survey conducted with the help of the eight instruments, each state was asked to write a status report on the education of the tribal children in the state. The status reports cover the following aspects
- Introduction to the tribal population in the state
- Information about various tribes in the state
- Developmental problems of tribal population
- Educational problems of tribals
- Schemes for promotion of education of tribals carried out by the state.
- Status and availability of teaching-learning materials in tribal languages of the state
- Summary of important studies related to tribal population in the state, giving major findings
- State plans for education of tribals in Eighth Five Year Plan.
The status report in each state was necessarily based on secondary data. All status reports from the seven states have been completed.
Survey Report Based on the actual field data collected through the field work, seven state survey reports have been written by state coordinators who were in charge of the tribal study in the concerned states. Each survey report includes the following :
- Objectives of the tribal study
- Processes of the tribal study in the respective state
- Geographic and demographic description of the selected districts and blocks
- Instrument-wise data analysis
- Analysis of the investigators' diaries
- Analysis of focussed group discussion
- Results and conclusions.
Analysis Plan - A set of eight instruments were prepared for collecting the data.
- A training manual was prepared to assist the field investigators who were appointed to collect the data.
- All the eight instruments and the training manuals were translated into seven languages (Assamese, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya).
- Workshops were held in all the states to train the field investigators. In
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each state a representative from Delhi was present to participate in the workshop. Special attention was given to focussed group discussions in which issues related to the objectives were discussed with the members of the community.
- A data entry programme for all the eight instruments was developed in the NCERT. This software was sent on floppies to all the seven states.
- Data was collected from all the blocks under the study by the field investigators and was entered on the floppy.
- The flppies with the data were sent to NCERT from all the states.
- State reports were prepared.
- Data of the entire sample was processed in the DNFEESC/ST, NCERT.
- Instrument-wise computer analyses were carried out
- Finally with the aid of these computer reports a final synthesis report was prepared.
Synthesis of State Reports On the basis of the seven survey reports generated at the state level a national synthesis report was prepared by the research team in the DNFEESC/ST. The national synthesis report attempts to capture significant findings as revealed in the state survey reports. Given the fact that tribal populations in the seven states not only vary significantly from each other but have different profiles within the state educational networks, the synthesis report, naturally, highlights only those areas where broad comparative statements can be made. The synthesis report also highlights the more significant interventions that are called for under the DPEP.
Tribal Study and DPEP In order to plan systematic interventions for primary education for tribal children in all the DPEP districts, it would be necessary to collate at the state level, both the status reports as well as the survey reports. Indepth reading of these two documents at the state level is, therefore, essential for any realistic planning of primary education for tribal children.
Key Findings
Educational Facilities - Out of the five DPEP states, in both Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu all the villages surveyed had a primary school. In Assam, Karnataka and Kerala 75 to 90 per cent villages had primary schools. Madhya Pradesh and Orissa had primary schools in 84.62 and 75 per cent villages, respectively, covered under this study.
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- Out of the five DPEP states, Maharashtra had the largest number of Ashram schools followed by Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Villages covered in Assam did not have any Ashram/residential school. Less than 20 per cent of the villages covered in Madhya Pradesh and Orissa had Ashram schools.
- Assam, Orissa and Tamil Nadu show fair presence of NGOs at the village level.
- The analysis of responses to a question whether tribal development programme was successful or not, the community leaders in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra felt that these programmes were unsuccessful.
Teachers of Tribal Children - Educational qualifications of teachers in the seven states range from below matric to post-graduate.
- In all the states the sampled teachers have either pre- service training or in-service training. No teacher is untrained.
- Most teachers and community leaders ascribe poor attendance of tribal children in school to economic reasons, including household duties and working on the; farm; low parent motivation is also listed as a significant reason for children not attending school. There is a similarity of responses given by children, community leaders and teachers (for details refer to Table 2 and Table 2a).
TABLE 2
Reasons for Children not Going to School Regularly as Given by the Community Leaders
and Teachers
Opinion Assam Karnataka Kerala M.P. Maharashtra Orissa Tamil Nadu
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
1. Financial
a. Teachers 96.97 93.02 80.90 90.00 81.82 63.33 82.35
b. Community 100.00 98.55 78.57 92.86 100.00 100.00 87.00
leaders
2. Household Work
a. Teachers 72.73 88.37 50.83 60.00 100.00 93.33 88.24
b. Community
leaders 68.83 23.19 30.00 25.00 16.67 14.29 34.15
3. Health Problem
a. Teachers 51.52 23.26 76.65 20 00 27.27 10.00 41.18
b. Community
leaders 68.83 23.19 82.86 25.00 16.67 14.29 34.15
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4. Agricultural Work
a. Teachers 60.61 83.72 65.17 50.00 100.00 46.67 64.71
b. Community
leaders 53.25 94.20 5.71 71.43 100.00 84.13 75.61
5. School Atmosphere
a. Teachers 57.58 9.30 22.47 10.00 27.27 16.67 5.88
b. Community
leaders 15.95 30.43 20.00 14.59 - 3.45 -
6. Teachers' Behaviour
a. Teachers
b. Community
leaders 19.48 76.62 18.57 20.29 17.86 4.76 29.27
7. Children's failure in examination
a. Teachers 18.18 - 30.34 - - - -
b. Community
leaders 33.77 21.74 65.71 17.86 - 1.59 31.71
8. Unwillingness of the parents
a. Teachers 57.58 27.91 70.79 5.00 27.27 6.67 5.88
b. Community
leaders 3.90 4.35 25.71 - - - -
Note : It may be noted that the total number of responses (Yes + No)
does not conform to 100. In such cases, it may be understood that
certain number of people have not responded