Abstract
The government of India has taken measures to implement various tribal development plans, involving voluntary organization. The study is about how to enhance the reach of government schemes and fill the gaps in service-deficient tribal areas in education, health, drinking water, agro-horticultural productivity, social security, etc., sectors and to provide an environment for socioeconomic upliftment and overall development of the Scheduled Tribes (STs). Any other innovative activity having a direct impact on their socio-economic development or livelihood evaluates the development of ST students as a result of help rendered by the voluntary organization in residential schools and finds out the better-performing organization in the residential schools of five states.
Introduction
India is a pluralist country, with rich diversity, reflected in the multitude of cultures, religions, languages and racial stocks. Its population includes different castes, communities and social groups. Such pluralism has made the social fabric stratified and hierarchical. As a result, social and economic opportunities are differentially distributed on the lines of caste and class affiliations. Geographically, India has equally pervasive and diverse features. It has large tracts of hinterland, hilly terrain, a dense forest cover and fertile coastal belts, besides the Indo-Gangetic plains, ensuring occupational and spatial differentiation, though the predominant occupation of three quarters of Indians is agriculture (Rattan et al., 2021). Rural India, with 80% of the population, is characterized by the lack of infrastructural facilities, widespread poverty and indebtedness, which led to the perpetuation of layers of inequalities and disparities at various levels, resulting in the country’s development process being hampered.
This is particularly severe for Scheduled Tribes (STs), as they not only live in hinterlands and are bereft of basic modern amenities but also socially and economically marginalized. Their social deprivation is aptly reflected in their educational backwardness. In this context, it can be said that tribal India is the least developed area and tribals are the worst sufferers, as they are doubly disadvantaged.
The preponderance of an elitist and discriminatory social order made certain segments of the population disadvantaged. And in due course, the gap between the segments further widened. Their access to socio-economic opportunities and participation in the developmental process is based on two factors. The first is the spatial differentiation, which refers to the region’s geographical location; it remains at an advantage over other areas if well connected by transport facilities, is near to areas of political, financial, industrial or business and entrepreneurial importance, is not hindered by natural barriers, etc. The second factor is the characteristic of the population or, in other words, the social disposition of the inhabitants of the region. For example, in the Indian social system, the dominance of the upper castes, who enjoyed higher privileges based on the ascriptive strengths, is rooted in the system and is ubiquitous, especially in the case of formal education. One such marginalized group is the STs.
India has more than 600 tribal communities constituting 8% of the total population and has the world’s second largest tribal population, with Odisha ranking first. According to Thomas (2005), they have been neglected for generations and their socio-economic conditions are pathetic. The Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution gives them special preference. Many policies and programmes have been formulated for their development by the central and state governments, despite their lifestyle being different from others, and for this, we need both the society and state (Kikon, 2017).
The Indian constitution envisages universal provisions of educational facilities for both primary and upper primary stages. The Constitutional (86th Amendment) Bill, notified on 13 December 2002, provides for free and compulsory elementary education as a fundamental right for all children in the age group of 6–14 years. Article 46 of the Constitution states that, ‘The State shall promote, with special care, the education and economic interests of the weaker sections, and, in particular of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of social exploitation’ (Rajulu, 2012). Articles 330, 332, 335, 338–342 and the entire Fifth and Sixth Schedules of the Constitution deal with special provisions, which need to be fully utilized, for the implementation of Article 46 (Kashyap, 2007). Article 246 of the Indian Constitution has entrusted the states with the responsibility of promoting the economic and educational interests of the Schedule Castes (SCs) and STs.
Educational Development of Scheduled Tribes
After independence, a number of steps have been taken to strengthen the educational base of SCs/STs. The Indian Constitution is committed to the equality of all citizens. The Directive Principles of State Policy also speak about the need to promote, with special care, the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections, in particular, of the SCs/STs.
In India, with a population of 67.75 million (1991 census), there are 574 individual tribal groups at various levels of development, with different degrees of exposure to modernity and social change. One of their distinguishing features is that the majority live in scattered and small habitations located in remote and inaccessible settlements, in hilly and forest areas of the country, lacking basic facilities, such as roads, transport, communications, electricity, sanitation and medical facilities. Their literacy rate is low but variable. A considerable portion of tribal children continue to be outside the school system. Education planning is often norm-based rather than applying norms; planning for the groups’ needs must be considered as a special case since the norms pertaining to distance and population size do not and cannot reflect the local, specific requirements.
The government has recognized and adopted flexible norms and approaches for them; however, this alone does universalize primary education conditions. Many innovative approaches are being tested, a recent one being the establishment of community schools called ‘Maabadi’ (meaning ‘our school’ in the local tribal language) in Andhra Pradesh, in place of government schools, in small and scattered habitations, where even after relaxation of rules, formal schools are not possible according to the existing norms.
Education is a fundamental right and an effective instrument to bring changes in people’s attitudes and aspirations. According to Mahatma Gandhi, ‘Education means all-round drawing out of the best in child and man—body, mind, and spirit’. Special focus has been given to the education of the disadvantaged sections of society. Articles 46, 275, 330, 332, 335, 338, 340 (Kashyap, 2007), etc., speak about special provisions for STs to safeguard their interests and to protect them from social injustice and exploitation. Education for tribals has been a key focus area of the education policy since independence. Article 366 (25) defines STs as ‘such tribes or tribal communities or parts of groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purpose of this Constitution’ (Kashyap, 2007).
Literacy Among the Tribes
Present education policies are not based on citizen-centric principles. Rather, they appear to be imposed on them. For example, the Indian education system does not consider the native languages of the tribal people leading to an incomplete development of the tribals. However, it cannot be denied that education has brought about a degree of social mobility for them. While it has allowed some individuals to grow, it has not engendered the development of the tribal society as a whole. For attaining education, many persons are being tempted to jettison their traditional roles and occupations. Even today, the illiteracy rate is highest among tribals. Education forms an important component in the overall development of individuals, enabling them greater awareness, better comprehension of their social, political and cultural environment, and also facilitating the improvement of their socio-economic conditions. As a result of positive steps taken by various governments towards their education, their literacy rate increased from 8.53% to 58.93% between 1961 and 2011. But still the gap between the total population and STs is high, that is, 14.03% as per government sources.
According to the 2011 census, 74.04% is India’s literacy rate, with 82.14% and 65.46% for males and females, respectively. Thus, four out of every five males and two out of every three females are literate in the country. During 2001–2011, the literacy rate jumped a record 9.21 percentage, with 6.88 and 11.79 percentage for males and females, respectively. The census, highlights that 15 states and the union territories have more than an 80% literacy rate.
The increase in the number of literates is remarkable in all the Empowered Action Group states with the highest in Bihar (74.83%), Jharkhand (59.24%) and Uttar Pradesh (56.40%), in between are Rajasthan (40.68%) and Chhattisgarh (39.61%) and Madhya Pradesh (38.73%), Uttarakhand (37.05%) and Odisha (36.68%) in the rear. Similarly, the percentage increase in the number of literates in Dadra and Nagar Haveli (119.46%), Daman and Diu (75.63%), Arunachal Pradesh (62.95%), Meghalaya (56.99%) and Jammu and Kashmir (50.71%) is noteworthy (Population Census, 2011).
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs was constituted in October 1999 with the objective of providing more focused attention on the integrated socio-economic development of STs, the most underprivileged sections of Indian society. It is the nodal ministry for the overall policy, planning and coordination of programmes for the development of STs. To this end, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs undertakes activities that flow from the subjects allocated under the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961. These include the following: (1) Social security and social insurance to the STs. (2) Tribal welfare: Tribal welfare planning, project formulation, research, evaluation, statistics and training. (3) Scholarship to tribal students. (4) Development of STs; 4(a) all matters including legislation, relating to the rights of forest-dwelling STs on forest lands. (5) Promotion and development of voluntary efforts on tribal welfare (National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, 2012). In this context, various voluntary organizations were born to help them with concern because democracy allows for the individual to undertake for public purpose (Merriam-Webster, 2017). According to Kulkarni (1969), voluntarism means ‘Private action, that is to say action not under the direction of any authority welding power of the state’. Lord Beveridge (2015) defined voluntarism as ‘A voluntary organization, properly speaking, is an organization which, whether its workers are paid or unpaid, is initiated and governed by its own members without external control’.
Voluntary organizations or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or civil society organizations have been playing a great role in socio-economic transformation of rural and tribal people of third-world countries. They give a helping hand to their governments in various sectors by educating and awakening the people for their community welfare, or they function independently and have their own board of directors/trustees, though they have to work within the parameters of government legislations and policies formulated for the NGOs.
Role of Voluntary Organizations in Indian Democracy
The concept of voluntary organizations is very ancient. According to Inamdar, during ancient and mediaeval times, voluntarism operated freely and exclusively in the fields of education, medicine, cultural promotion and acted as succour in crises like droughts, floods, epidemics and foreign innovations (Benton, 1968). In the early nineteenth century, voluntary organizations provided services to the privileged and weaker sections of the society, largely in the fields of religion and social reforms (Anderson, 1962). There were several organizations that worked with dedication towards the removal of caste restrictions, improving conditions of widows, orphans and poor women by educating individuals and groups in the society.
He speaks of civil society in contradiction to what he terms political society. Chatterjee distinguishes between a domain of properly constituted civil society and a more ill-defined and contingently activated domain of political society. Civil society in India today, peopled largely by the urban middle classes, is the sphere that seeks to be congruent with the normative models of bourgeois civil society and represents the domain of capitalist hegemony. But there is the other domain of political society, which includes large sections of the rural population and the urban poor. These people do, of course, have the formal status of citizens and can exercise their franchise as an instrument of political bargaining. But they do not relate to the organs of the state in the same way that the middle classes do, nor do governmental agencies treat them as proper citizens belonging to civil society. Those in political society make their claims on government and in turn are governed, not within the framework of stable, constitutionally defined rights and laws, but rather through temporary, contextual and unstable arrangements arrived at through direct political negotiations. The bulk of the Indian population lives outside the orderly zones of proper civil society (Chatterjee, 2008). In the later part of nineteenth century, Christian missionaries (Vergees, 1979) entered to uplift the rural poor and also took interest in spreading education, health consciousness among down trodden sections like SCs, STs.
Mouzelis (1980, p. 184)
offers of reductionism in Marxist theory: In so far as they suggest that it is possible to systematically derive political practices and institutional structures from the ‘laws’ or functional requirements of the capitalist mode of production or the machinations of an all-powerful bourgeoisie, they discourage serious study of the complicated and more or less indirect linkages between the economic and the political instances. Moreover, as far as they portray collective agents as omnipotent, anthropomorphic entities or, at the other extreme, as mere “effects” of structural determinations, they lead either to an ultra-voluntarism or to a structural determinism—both extremes emasculating Marxism’s dialectical character, i.e., its portrayal of collective agents in a constantly changing relation with a social environment which both constructs actors and presents them with a more or less large number of alternatives, and backward sections of the societies.
In the early twentieth century, during natural calamities, besides relief and rehabilitation programmes, they were also engaged in various fields like education, health and labour welfare. According to Ghosh (1990), after independence, under Gandhi’s leadership, social workers provided involuntary action in India. They were the ones who started the movement of voluntary action, both in urban and rural areas.
The Constitution of India, in Article 366, defined STs as those tribes that have been declared by constitutional order under Article 342 for the purpose of the constitution. There are 574 tribal groups identified as the STs (Basu, 2011), previously described as the Adivasis, indigenous, vanajatis, etc. They are the country’s indigenous people and their participation in the freedom struggle cannot be ignored. Since independence, the government has always tried to bring them into the society’s mainstream. (Rupavath, 2015). As per the 2001 Census, their population is 8.43 crore (8.2%). They are dependent on forests for their livelihood and are unaware of the modern society (Rupavath, 2009).
India’s literacy rate has increased from 52.21% to 64.84% from 1991 to 2001, whereas for STs has increased from 29.60% to 47.10%. Among ST males, it increased from 40.65% to 59.17% and among ST females from 18.19% to 34.76% during the same period. The ST female literacy is lower by approximately 21 percentage points compared to the overall female literacy of the general population. However, the increases are significant. From 1961 to 2001, there was an increase from 8.53% to 47.10% for STs, while it increased from 28.30% to 64.84% for the total population. To eliminate the issues of tribal education—language barriers, distance of the schools, etc.,—the constitutional framers viewed education as an instrument of social change. Various education commissions and five-year plans have strengthened the views of equality through social justice, integration and mainstreaming (Rupavath, 2015). Also, mushrooming of various educational institutions happened post-independence. Many schools, such as Ashram schools, Ekalavya schools, Ramakrishna Missions, Christian Missionary schools, have been constructed in the region to give equal opportunity to the ST students to gain knowledge and enable them to improve their socio-economic status. But later their dropout rates were found to be high than others.
Keeping in mind the study’s vastness, multi-stage stratified random sampling method will be used as an appropriate sampling method to choose the voluntary organization sample units. From each state, two voluntary organizations will be chosen on a random sampling basis for the data collection. This method is best suited when the universe is spread across a larger area and can be divided into a number of categories based on certain homogeneous criteria. In this method, the population is first divided into a number of strata based on certain predefined criteria, and then a simple random sampling is taken from each stratum, and such samples are brought together to form the total sample. Such a method of sample selection contributes towards to examine and evaluate the development of the ST students in residential schools of five states, namely Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, resulting from voluntary organizations. To examine the nature of provisions available to them. To ascertain the cause of the better performing voluntary organization in achieving sample efficiency, making it a truly representative one with a wider coverage.
From the mentioned states, two voluntary organizations, two schools and the beneficiaries, the ST students will be taken with a random sampling. Through purposive sampling, 50 teachers have been selected.
Evidence from Across the Country
This article deals with the field experience and the data analysis. The field report includes various variables such as voluntary organization, schools and the teachers. It reveals the status of the voluntary organizations and also their experience. From random sampling, two voluntary organizations are considered, and also, two schools and the beneficiaries. Through purposive sampling, 50 teachers have been selected. The multi-stage stratified random sampling will be the sampling procedure for the proposed study and will be as follows. An interview method and cross-checking will be adopted to elicit relevant data from the field. Attempts will be made to make the schedule a structured one with close-ended questions for more scientific analysis. Besides these primary data from the field, relevant secondary information from secondary sources will be tapped.
Methodology
The proposed study intends to cover the five states, namely Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, making it the universe of the study. Sample units will be drawn using the appropriate sampling method.
Sampling Frame
From the above five states, two voluntary organizations working for STs in residential schools will be taken. Along with two schools and the beneficiaries, the ST students will be taken with a random sampling. Through purposive sampling, 50 teachers have been selected.
The Sampling Procedure
Considering the vastness of the study universe, multi-stage stratified random sampling method will be used as an appropriate sampling method to choose the voluntary organization sample units. From each state, two voluntary organizations will be chosen on a random sampling basis for the data collection. This method of sampling is best suited when the universe is spread across a larger area, and can be divided into a number of categories based on certain homogeneous criteria. In stratified random sampling, the population is first divided into a number of strata based on certain predefined criteria, and then a simple random sampling is taken from each stratum, and such samples are brought together to form the total sample. Such a method of sample selection contributes towards achieving the efficiency of the sample, making it a truly representative one with a wider coverage. The sampling procedure for the proposed study will be as follows.
Data Collection
An interview method and cross-checking will be adopted to elicit relevant data from the field. Attempts will be made to make the schedule a structured one with close-ended questions for more scientific analysis. However, whenever felt necessary, certain open-ended questions will occur in the schedule, which will be analysed qualitatively. Besides these primary data from the field, relevant secondary information from secondary sources will be tapped.
Data Processing
The empirical data collected from the field with the above methodology will be presented in tables, graphics, pie diagrams, etc. Tabular analysis will be helpful for calculating simple averages and percentages. Further, appropriate statistical tools like MS-Excel and SPSS will be used for analysing the data.
Assisting Voluntary Organization and Possibilities of Social Transformation
Jeeyar Gurukulam Missionary School’s Impact on Adivasis in Telangana State
China Jeeyar Swami Gurukulam School is situated in a rural area of the Adilabad district of Telangana. It is a private, English medium, co-educational school. The school premises has a computer lab, a library facility, a proper playground apart from the quarters’ facility and is enough for the present students. When enquired, the students were informed about getting proper bore-water facilities. The average class strength is 20–30. The school has controlled the number of drop-out students on roll. The school has certain achievements and gets help from volunteering organizations to improve its quality. We collected data from 30 students to know their conditions in the school and hostels. By that, we got to know their socio-economic conditions, personal life up to an extent, position in the society, etc. Among 30, we got data from 21 male students and 9 female students. All of them come from various sub-tribes or various sub-castes of the ST category. Only six speak Telugu, and the rest speak in their own traditional tribal languages. When asked, all the students gave very detailed information about their parents—their father’s or mother’s name, age, occupation, family income, etc. Most of their fathers’ age are between 36 and 50 years, some more than that and a few below 35. In this regard, I would like to mention one student named Ratan Singh, who mentioned his grandfather as his guardian. He studied above higher secondary level and others till primary level. Among the 30 students, parents of 7 have no work owing to old age, 7 are agricultural wage labourers, 6 are non-agricultural wage labourers and 10 are in agriculture. A total of 28 students said none of their relatives are government employees, while 2 have, but inapplicable to them. All these 30 have their own house; 15 students live in huts, 12 in ‘kutcha homes’, 2 in a semi-pucca house and only 1 lives in a very small pucca house. Only 11 have electricity facilities, 21 use hand pumps and the other 9 use open wells for drinking water purposes. Only 1 has a proper toilet facility, and 22 have ration cards provided by the Government of India; 6 have TVs and none has a refrigerator. Only 2 have motorcycles and 8 have cycles, among 30. All have gas stoves. A total of 26 have their own agricultural lands, of which 8 have 6–10 acres of land, 12 own 3–5 acres, 3 families have 0–2 acres and the rest of the 7 families’ land ownership is inapplicable in this regard. None of them follow shifting cultivation now. Agriculture is the income source for 18 families, labour wages for 7 and both for 5. The family’s annual income is less than 25,000 for 24 students, and for the rest 6, it is 25,001–50,000. When asked about their inspirations, 20 students said parents, 4 said their brother or sister and 6 said their relatives. Twenty-six get financial support from parents and four from their siblings. Taking admission was an issue for 13 out of 30.When asked about reasons behind joining here, for 4 students it is the nearest school, for 18 it is the best and for 8, based on their relatives’ advice.
Apart from four students, others seemed happy about the regular presence of the teachers in class. The class’s average strength is 26–35. Five students do not find any difficulties in understanding the subjects. All agreed upon having a playground; 26 students said about having a proper library facility, while 6 spoke negatively about a computer lab. A total of 25 students were happy with the hostel’s bedding facility. The rest five said that 1–6 members are allotted in one room. Excluding six students, others found that the hostel safe for girls. Out of the total, 23 seemed fine with the drinking water facility and 7 were unhappy. Apart from four, the rest said that they have a proper toilet facility in the school. A total of 25 were happy with the warden’s friendly attitude, while 5 others did not bother. Regarding hostel atmosphere, only six students spoke negative. Twenty-three said that school even arranges picnics or tours for entertainment.
For eight, Telugu was easy, English for three, Hindi for eight, science for three and social science for eight. Out of 30, 14 found English tough, 8 mathematics, 6 science and 2 social science. Seven students neither raise question nor answer in class, as two of them have subject phobia and five have classroom phobia. The other 23 participate actively in the class. Out of total, 8 passed with first-class marks and 22 with second-class marks in the last class. A total of 17 students read the regional daily newspaper, 8 do not read any and 5 did not comment on this. A total of 4 read the regional magazine and 7 of them read books apart from textbooks. Regarding higher studies, 8 wanted to study till inter, 13 till graduation and 9 till post-graduation. Among all, 7 wanted to take Arts and the other 23 students desired to pursue science. When asked about their ambitions, 8 said doctor, 8 engineering, 3 teachers, and most interestingly, 11 of them wanted to be a police officer.
Among all, only 6 were unaware of the SC/ST/OBC reservation policy, and 23 of them used this reservation facility at the secondary education level, 2 at the primary level and 5 never used it. According to 12 students, this policy is very useful for educational purposes and 18 found it somewhat useful. Two were unaware, 6 did not comment and 22 were aware of volunteering organizations helping them. Twenty-eight of them get benefits out of their works.
A Case for Full Enrolment
The other school in Telangana state is the Integrated Cooperation Foundation School in the rural area of Rangareddy district. This school is co-educational, English medium and classes are taught from 1st to 10th. It is also run by one volunteering organization, has enough hostel buildings, a playground, a computer lab and a quarter facility but no library facility. Water supply is insufficient with tap connection. Average class strength is 30. It enrols drop-out students and has achievements as well.
We collected details of family members, their education, occupation, etc., for 30 students, including 8 girls and 8 boys, among whom 3 are Christians and 2 are Hindus all of the ST category. All said that their mother tongue is their own traditional tribal language, except very few. Very few of their parents had primary education. Fathers of nine students are in agriculture, seven are agricultural wage labourers, seven are non-agricultural wage labourers and the other four have no work because of old age. Relatives of two students work in government service, though it is inapplicable to them. All of them own different types of houses to live in.
Among all, 14 have ‘kutcha’ homes, 13 live in ‘huts’, 2 in semi-pucca houses and 1 in pucca house without enough space. Only 20 have electricity facilities. About drinking water facilities, only 2 said they have tube well, 19 have a hand pump and 9 use an open well. Only one student has a proper toilet facility. Out of 30 students, 27 have ration cards and 22 have mobiles. Six of them have televisions, three have motorcycles, seven have cycles and none has a gas stove or refrigerator in their home. Among 30, 20 have agricultural lands and 10 do not. Three of them have 0–2 acres, 8 have 3–5 acres, 1 does not have any idea about it, and for the rest, it’s inapplicable. None of them follow shifting cultivation. For 17 students, agriculture is the only income source, for 7 it is only labour wage and for 6, it’s both. The annual income of 6 students is 25,000–50,000 and up to 25,000 for the rest. For 21 students, their father or mother is their motivator, a sibling for 3 and their relatives for 3. All except three get financial support from their parents. Only 13 students did not face any problem while taking admission. All are happy with their decision to be a student here, and when asked about reasons behind joining here, for 4 students it is the nearest school, for 20 it is the best, and for 6, based on their relatives’ advice.
Only 4 said that teachers do not come to class every day, when others said that teachers are very much regular. The average class strength is 26–35. There is no problem in understanding class lessons for only four students. A total of 23 are aware of having a library facility, and all agreed upon having a proper playground. Seven said no to having a computer facility, while others said yes.
Five said that they do not have bed facilities in hostels. Among all, 4 said 6–10 members are allotted in one room, 2 said 1–5, but the majority said 11–15 students. Excluding six, others said the hostel is safe for girls. Twenty-six said that they have proper drinking water facility and 24 talked about proper toilet facility. The warden is friendly for 26, but not for 4 students. The majority (24) said it was a good hostel environment and excluding 6, others said that the school or hostel even arranges for tours or picnics.
Their regional language is a favourite subject for eight students, English for four, Hindi for eight, science for three and social science for seven. Regarding the toughest subject, 30 said English, 7 said mathematics, 7 said science and 3 said social science. Eight students ask no questions in class, since six have classroom phobia and two have subject phobia. Eight students, due to subject phobia, do not answer in class. Twenty-two participate properly in class. A total of 7 passed with first class and 23 with second class. Five students do not read any newspapers, 19 read regional newspaper, 4 read regional magazines, 8 read books apart from the textbook and 6 have not commented on this question. A total of 7 students want to study till inter, 14 till graduation and 9 till post-graduation. Among all, 8 want to pursue arts while other 22 students science. A total of 7 students wish to be doctors in future, 10 want to be engineers, 11 want to join police service and only 2 want to be a teacher.
Twenty-two of them are aware of SC/ST/OBC reservations, out of which 23 students used these and 7 did not use in secondary level. Seventeen students found it very useful and 13 somewhat useful. Two are unaware of volunteering organizations helping schools and seven did not comment on this issue, but others are well aware. Except for three, all get their help and get immense benefits.
Tribal Poverty in Andhra Pradesh
In Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, Association Foundation Residential School (AFRS) is placed in a rural part. This is a girl’s school where the regional language is the medium of teaching for the students from first to fifth standards. The rented school building is not sufficient for the students. It has a library facility, a computer lab facility, a proper playground, and also quarters facility. Water facility is sufficient with tap connection. The average strength of the class is 20–30. It enrols dropouts and also takes initiatives to control them. Authority did not comment about their achievements and help from volunteering organizations.
Among these 30 ST girls, 4 are Christians and 26 are Hindus. The regional language is mother tongue for 8 and traditional tribal language for 22. They gave detailed information about their family. Fathers of 12 of them had primary education, 2 till secondary, 1 till higher secondary and no education for the rest. Of all fathers, 12 worked in agriculture, 7 as agricultural labourers, 3 as non-agricultural labourers and 8 have no job owing to several reasons.
Relatives of 7 students, their siblings for 2, uncle/aunt for 4 and other for 1 student, work in government service. Aside from 2 individuals, one of whom is without a home, all the others possess a house. Fifteen live in ‘pucca’ house, 2 in semi-pucca, 8 in huts and 4 in ‘kutcha’ house. Three students have no electricity facility in their homes. Only 1 has tube well access, 19 use hand pumps and 11 use tap connections. Only 8 have proper sanitation facility. Twenty-seven students have a ration card facility. Surprisingly, 26 of the households assert cell phones. In 10 houses, there are no televisions; 7 have motorcycles and 8 have cycles. Twenty of them own agricultural lands, of which 10 own 0–2 acres, 8 own 3–5 acres, 5 own 6–10 acres of land and it’s inapplicable for the rest. None of them are following shifting cultivation. The income source of 18 families is agriculture, labour for 6, both for 4 and monthly salaries for 2 families. For most, parents are their motivators, and siblings for four students. Only three faced difficulties while taking admission in the school, though all liked it.
When asked about reasons behind joining here, for 4 students it is the nearest school, for 18 it is the best school and others joined based on their relatives’ advice. All of them stated that the average class strength is 26–35 and 26 said that teachers take classes daily. Except for five, others have difficulties in understanding lessons. Excluding four, others said about having a library facility in school, and all agreed upon having an adequate playground. Regarding the computer lab, 22 said yes, and 8 were unaware of it. Only five said they do not have beds in the hostel. When asked about the number of members allotted one room, 28 said 11–15 members, 1 said 1–5 and others said that 11–15 students. Excluding six students, others said the hostel is safe for girls. Seven spoke negatively of proper drinking water facility and four said no about having proper sanitation system too. Except for five students, others spoke about the warden’s friendly attitude. The hostel atmosphere is good for 26 students, and 7 said no about the school arranging for a picnic. The regional language is the favourite subject for 8 students, English for 3, Hindi for 8, science for 3 and social sciences for 8. Mathematics is the most difficult subject for 8, English for 14, science for 6 and social science for 2, and 7 girls do not ask questions as 5 have classroom phobia and 2 has subject phobia. Eight do not answer in the class. Among all, 8 students passed with first class and 22 got second class. A total of 17 students read regional daily newspapers, 8 did not read and 5 students did not comment on this. Four students read regional magazines also and four students read books outside their texts. Of all the students, 8 of them want to study till inter, 13 till graduation and 9 till post-graduations. Only science students said they wanted to take arts and the rest said science. Eight students wish to be doctors in future, 8 engineers, 3 teachers and 11 said they wanted to join police.
Among all, 23 of them are aware of the SC/ST/OBC reservation policies and used it in secondary level. Six never used it and one used at the primary level. Eighteen found it very useful, three are unaware of volunteering organizations and six did not comment about it, but the rest are well aware of these. All students agreed upon being helped by volunteering organizations, and apart from five students, everyone benefitted from it.
Lack of Infrastructural Facilities in Andhra Pradesh
BIRDS Residential School is in a remote area of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh. This school is co-educational for 1st–10th standards taught in both local and English medium. The hostel building is enough with a computer lab, library and also a quarter facility, but not a sufficient playground. Water supply is sufficient with bore and tap connections. More than 30 is the average class strength. This school does not enrol dropout students, though an initiative is taken to prevent their number. It has certain achievements and volunteering organizations help this residential school to improve the quality of education.
We surveyed 9 female and 21 male students, and all submitted their details meticulously. Of them, 4 are Christians and 26 are Hindus, but all come under the ST category. Fathers of three students studied till primary level and others are illiterates. Among their fathers, the occupation of 5 is agriculture, another 5 is agricultural wage labour and 15 have no job. The regional language is the mother tongue for three students and their traditional tribal language for the rest. Eight students have relatives working in Government service, among whom four spoke of their uncle or aunt and two mentioned their brother or sister. Of all, 25 have their own houses, among whom 11 live in insufficient pucca houses, 4 in semi-pucca house, 5 in huts, 4 in kutcha house and 4 have no house to live in. Four houses are without electricity. Three students have access of a tube well for drinking water, 16 use hand pumps and the other 11 use a tap connection. Only eight students have proper bathroom facilities at home. Twenty-seven of them hold ration card and others do not. Excluding five families, others have a mobile and television. A total of 11 and 9 households have motorcycles and cycles, respectively. None has a gas stove but three have refrigerators.
Eighteen families own agricultural lands, of which 14 have 0–2 acres, 3 have 3–5 acres, 1 has no idea regarding the amount of land and the rest have no land. None follow shifting cultivation. Agriculture is the main source of income for 15, labour for 7, both for 5 and a monthly salary for 3. Annual income is 25,001–50,000 for 7, 50,001–100,000 for 2 and the rest earn less than 25,000. For 3 students, their siblings are their inspiration, relatives for 6 and parents for 21. Out of 30, 3 are financially dependent on their brother or sister and others on their parents. Thirteen students faced difficulties during admission and 29 like the school. When asked about reasons behind joining here, for 4 students it is the nearest school, 18 joined based on their relatives’ advice and for others it is the best. All except four stated that teachers are very regular in taking classes and have no difficulties in understanding the lessons. The average class strength is 26–35. Twenty-three said of having a proper library, and all said yes about the playground facility. Seven are unaware of the computer lab facility.
Twenty-five said that they have proper beds in the hostel. A total of 5 students said 6–10, 1 said 1–5 and 24 said that 11–15 students are allotted in one room. Twenty-four said that the hostel is safe for girls. Twenty-six stated having proper drinking water facility in the hostel and 24 spoke about proper bathroom facility as well. Twenty-six students talked about the warden’s friendly attitude, and four said that the warden does not bother much. Twenty-six said yes to the school arranging a picnic while six said no.
Telugu is the favourite subject for 8, English for 4, Hindi for 8, science for 3 and social science for 7. English is hard for 13, math for 7, science for 7 and social science for 3 students. Eight do not raise any question in class, as six of them have classroom phobia and two have subject phobia. A total of 7 passed with first class marks and 23 students got second class marks. Five students do not read any newspapers and 6 did not comment on this, but the rest of the 19 read daily regional newspapers. Only four read regional magazines and eight read books apart from textbooks. Seven want to study till inter, 14 till graduation and 9 till post-graduation level. Eight want to take arts and 22 want to take science for further studies. In the future, 7 want to be doctors, 9 engineers, 3 wish to be a teacher and 11 students dream about being police officers.
Twenty-two are aware of SC/ST/OBC reservation policies, 7 never used it and 1 used it till secondary level. Except 13, others find it very useful. Five students did not comment when we asked about volunteering organizations, 2 are unaware but 23 are well informed. Apart from one, everyone gets their help, and except six, everyone benefits from their initiative.
Performance of Schools in Chhattisgarh
Aarzoo Foundation Residential School is situated in a rural place in the Raipur district of Chhattisgarh. This is a co-educational school taught in both English and regional mediums from 1st–10th standards. The buildings are enough with sufficient playground, computer lab, library facilities and borewell water supply too. Average class strength is 11–20. The quarter facility is there. Dropouts are not enrolled, and initiatives are taken to control it. This school has many achievements, and volunteering organizations help them to improve the quality.
From the school, 9 girls and 21 boys participated in the survey and gave their family details. Out of all, 6 are Christians, 24 are Hindu, and all are from various sub-castes of the ST category. Telugu is the mother tongue for two and traditional tribal language for the rest. Most of their fathers are uneducated, though five fathers were educated till primary level and only one till secondary level.
Nine of them work in the agricultural field, seven as agricultural wage labourers, seven as non-agricultural wage labour and seven have no work for other reasons. None but two have relatives working as government employees; one mentioned his uncle, and it is inapplicable for the other. Twenty-nine of them own a house and one does not. One student lives in a semi-pucca house and another in a small pucca house, 14 in huts and 14 in kutcha houses. Only 20 houses have electricity facilities. Twenty-one families use hand pumps and nine use open wells to get drinking water. Only 1 has a toilet facility, and 26 have ration cards. Twenty households assert cell phone surprisingly. Five houses have television also, one has motorcycle and seven have cycles at home. None of them have gas stoves and refrigerators.
Among 30, 3 have 0–2 acres, 11 own 3–5 acres, 5 own 6–10 acres of land; for 10 students, it is inapplicable, and 1 does not have any idea about the amount. None follow shifting cultivation. Nineteen said agriculture is the only income source, seven earn from labour job and four from both. Out of all, 7 earn 25,000–50,000, and 23 make less than 25,000 annually. Parents are the motivation for 21 students, their siblings for 4 and relatives for 5. Four students get financial support from their brother or sister and the rest from parents.
Almost half did not face any difficulties during admission time. All but one like the school. When asked about reasons behind joining here, for three students, it is the nearest school, 6 joined based on nearby people’s advice and for others it is the best. Teachers take classes regularly according to 27 and all agreed upon the average class strength to be 26–35. Five students find no difficulties in understanding class lessons. Twenty-five students admitted about having a library, and 11 disagreed upon having a computer lab facility, but all agreed on having a school playground. Twenty-four students said that they have proper beds in the hostel, and according to 5 students, 6–10 members and according to 24, 11–15 students stay in one room. Twenty-two students opposed having drinking water in the hostel, and five said not having washrooms as well. Twenty-six found the warden’s attitude friendly, 21 said it was a good hostel atmosphere and 25 admitted not being taken for a picnic. Eight students study the regional language easily, four English, seven Hindi, four science and seven social sciences. English is hard to study for 13 students, math for 7 students, science for 8 students and social science for 2 students. Seven students do not ask questions in class because of classroom phobia (6) and subject phobia (1). Eight students do not respond in class because of subject phobia. The number of students who cleared the last class with first class was 7, and 23 with cleared with second class. Seventeen students read daily regional newspapers, five read regional magazine and eight read books other than the prescribed ones. Seven wish to study till inter, 13 till graduation and 10 till post-graduation. A total of 8 and 22 students would like to take arts and science, respectively, for further studies. To be a doctor is the ambition of 7 students, an engineer for 10, teacher for 1 and police for the rest.
All except 8 are aware of SC/ST/OBC reservation and have used it in secondary level, 1 in primary level and 7 never used it though it’s not much useful for 12 students. Seven students did not comment and one is unaware of the fact that some volunteering organizations are working for STs in rural areas. A total of 24 students said that they are benefitting, and 29 said their family is benefitting from such initiatives.
In Chhattisgarh, Abhiyan Foundation Residential School is situated in a rural part of Bilaspur district. In this girls’ school, 1st–5th standards are taught in both local and English mediums. It has enough school or hostel buildings with a sufficient playground, a computer lab and a library for the students. Each class strength is more than 30. Staff has a quarter facility and the residents get enough through both bore and tap water connections. This school takes initiatives to control the number of dropout students. It also has achievements and volunteering organizations help to improve its quality. In this school also, we collected data from 30 students.
Growth and Development of Tribal Children in Jharkhand
Adarsha Pragathi Foundation Residential School is situated in a rural area of Ranchi district, Jharkhand. This school offers 1st to 10th standards in both local and English mediums. The school building is not enough for the students, though it has its own library, a computer lab and a sufficient playground for the kids. Residents have a sufficient bore water supply. It has a quarter facility in the school premise. Though dropout students are not enrolled in this school, it has taken initiatives to control them. Achievements are there, and volunteering organizations help them in improvement.
JJF residential school is in a rural area of Jamshedpur district, Jharkhand. In this school, 1st–10th standards are taught both in English and regional mediums. The volunteering organization—Jharkhand Jyoti Foundation—helped them. The school has enough buildings with a proper playground, library and computer lab facility for the students. There is enough water supply with both bore and tap connections. Average class strength is above 30. The quarter facility is there for the faculty and non-teaching staff in the school premises. The school has many achievements, and initiatives have been taken to control the drop-out students enrolled in the school. The authority did not comment on the volunteering organization helping the residential school.
As we collected family details of 30 students—8 girls and 22 boys—we found that all are from various sub-tribes under the ST category. Nine said that regional language is their mother tongue and their tribal language for 21. Only four among their fathers could study till primary level. Occupation is agriculture for 11, agricultural wage labour for 8, non-agricultural wage labour for 4 and 7 have no job. Of 30, relatives of 2 work in government service, their uncle or aunt for others and is inapplicable for 1. Except 2, others own a house—14 live in huts and 14 in kutcha houses. Only 18 houses have electricity. For drinking water, 21 students use hand pump and 9 use open well. The majority (28) do not have toilet facility and 25 have ration cards. Twenty households use cell-phones, and three have televisions too. None have motorcycles, gas-stove and refrigerator, but 7 have cycles. Of 18 families having agricultural lands, 4 own 0–2 acres, 5 have 3–5 acres, 2 have 6–10 acres of land and 5 have no idea about the exact amount.
None follows shifting cultivation presently. Family income source is agriculture for 20, labour job for 3 and both for 7. About 23 make less than 25,000 in a year and 7 between 25,001 and 50,000. For 7, their brother or sister inspires them, relatives for 2 and parents for 21. Among all, 25 depend on their parents economically and other 5 on their brother or sister. Fifteen faced problems during admission. All but 1 student liked the school. When asked why they joined this school, most said this is the best school, two said it is nearby and seven said their relatives or parents suggested. Twenty-eight students said teachers are very much regular in classes, and all said that the class average strength is 26–35. Apart from three, others find difficulties in understanding class lessons. Of all, 7 and 13 students said about not having library and computer lab facilities, respectively. All agreed upon having a proper school playground. Seven disagreed upon having bed facility. Among all, 24 said 11–15 members and 6 said 6–10 members are allotted in one room. None but six find hostels safe for girls.
Twenty-two spoke about having proper drinking water facility and 26 about good sanitation facility in hostels. Twenty-five students said about hostel warden’s friendly attitude and rest said the warden is not bothered about anything. Apart from 5, all said that the hostel atmosphere is good enough for them, and 24 said that a picnic is arranged for them. Of all, seven students find Telugu easy, seven students English, four Hindi, six science and six social science, to study. According to 11 students, English is hardest, mathematics for 8, science, for 9 and social science for 2. Due to classroom phobia, six students do not ask questions and seven do not answer because of subject phobia. Eight passed with first-class marks and 22 with second-class marks. Out of 30, 20 students do read daily newspaper in regional language, 4 do not read and 6 did not comment on it. Six read regional magazine and eight students have read other books.
Six students aim to study till inter, 15 till graduation and 9 till post-graduation. Of 30, 8 of them like to study Arts, 22 science, 8 want to become a doctor, 11 an engineer, 1 teacher and 10 police officer. Eight students told they are unaware of SC/ST/OBC reservation policy. Four of them used it in primary level, 22 in secondary level and 4 never. Only 50% found this policy useful. Seven students did not comment on the question on their awareness about the volunteering organizations working for STs, 1 is unaware and 22 are well known of this fact. Apart from one, others admitted getting benefits from the organizations. Twenty-three said that they are helped because of this taken initiative.
Rights-based Activism in Odisha
Angle Foundation Residential School is situated in a rural area of Sambalpur district, Odisha. Classes are taught from 1st to 5th standards in local and English mediums. This school has enough buildings, a sufficient playground and computer lab, but no library for children. Water supply is inadequate with only a tap water connection. Average class strength is 20–30. There is no quarter facility in the school premises. It has many achievements, and initiatives have been taken to control the dropout students enrolled in the school. The authority did not comment on the volunteering organization helping the residential school.
For the survey, we got information from 30 kids—10 girls and 20 boys, of which 24 are Hindu, 6 are Christians, and all are of ST background. The mother tongue of 19 is their traditional tribal language and Oriya for 11. Seven said that their father had education till primary, and one said his father had till secondary. A total of 11 students’ fathers do agriculture, 7 do agricultural wage labour, 7 are non-agricultural wage labourers and 5 have no job. Only two students said that their relatives are in government service, of which one has his uncle or aunt, and it’s inapplicable for the other. One student has no house to live in. Among the rest (29), 1 lives in a small pucca house, 13 in huts and 15 live in kutcha house. Ten have no electricity service at home. One family uses a tube well, 21 use a hand pump and 8 use an open well for drinking water purposes. None but one has a toilet facility at home. Twenty-five families have ration cards, and apart from 11 houses, others have mobile phones. three have televisions, six have cycles and one has a motorcycle. None of them has a gas stove and refrigerator in their house. Apart from 10, 20 of the 30 have their own agricultural lands, and as far as the size is concerned, 2 have 0–2 acres, 10 have 3–5 acres, 4 have 6–10 acres of land and 1 does not have an idea about the size, and for the other 13, it is inapplicable.
No one follows shifting cultivation. Agriculture is the income source for 19, 5 work as labourers and both for 6. Six members earn up to 25,000 and seven make 25,001–50,000 annually. Twenty-two said their parents, five their siblings and three about their relatives as persons who motivate them. Twenty-five students are financially dependent on their parents and the other five on their siblings. Sixteen students faced problems during admissions.
Excluding two, all liked the school very much. When asked about reasons behind joining here, for three students said that it is the nearest school, six joined based on their relatives’ advice and for others it is the best. Except three, others said that teachers come to class every day. The average class strength is 26–35. Six students find no difficulties in understanding classroom lessons. Twenty-four students said they have a library and 19 students said they have a computer lab, but all agreed upon having a school playground. Twenty-five said yes to the facility in hostels, 27 said that 11–15 students are allotted in one room and 3 said 6–10 members are allotted in a room. Hostels are safe for girls according to 24 students. Seven and five disagreed upon having drinking water and toilet facilities, respectively, in hostels. Twenty-five said the warden’s attitude is friendly, and the rest said that the warden is not bothered about anything. Apart from 9 students, 21 others found the hostel atmosphere to be good, and 23 said that the school arranged a picnic for them. Seven students find Oriya easy, five find English easy, six Hindi, five science and seven social sciences. English is tough for 12 students, mathematics for 8, science for 8 and social science for 2 students. Six students do not raise any questions in class due to classroom phobia, and eight do not answer in class because of subject phobia. Twenty-two students passed with second class and eight passed with first class number. Eight students read daily newspapers in Oriya; others do not, and five did not comment about it. Five read regional magazines and eight have read books apart from textbooks. Six students want to study till inter, 13 till graduation and the rest 11 till post -graduation. Eight said that they want to take Arts and 22 Science for future studies. Ambition for 7 is doctor, engineer for 10, and teacher for 1, and 12 want to join police force.
Apart from 7, other students are aware of SC/ST/OBC reservation policy. Eleven students find it somewhat useful, and 19 others find it very useful. Twenty-three students are aware of the volunteering organizations’ work for STs. Except for 1, all families benefitted from them, of which 25 really benefitted.
Here in Odisha, we have another branch of BIRDS in the rural area of Koraput district. This is a 1st–8th standard girls school, taught in both Oriya and English mediums. It has enough school or hostel buildings with a library, computer lab and quarter facilities but no sufficient playground for the students. Having both borewell and tap connections, there is no water supply scarcity. Average class strength is 11–20. Measures have been taken to control the number of enrolled dropout students. It has many achievements, and volunteering organizations helping it for its improvement.
Case Study 1
Rama Vath Swathi, resident of the Mangali Banda Thanda, age 17 years old. Mamatha was studying the 11th class in the nearby town of Thanda (hamlet). In COVID times 2021, January, she got married to an agricultural labourer, who does not have the proper educational qualification. When we asked, Why did you marry? Mamatha said that
in our community we have culture of marriage alliance, which can happen mostly between the close relative. So my parents also made marriage alliance with my parental aunty in my 10th standard. So now do to the COVID my parents thought that my education is not much important, in covid times they can marry with the lesser budget compare to the normal times. I have a desire for the studies but due to my parents economic problems and dowry problem I have get marry as early as possible so avoid the more dowry in the future. My parents believes that as the times passes the demand for the dowry is more and if a girl marries at early age there will be lesser demand for dowry.
Case Study 2
Bukya Bheemini is studying in the 8th standard in government school. In COVID times in 2020, she was married to a 30-year-old person. Her response is that even though she wants to continue her education, her parents never allowed her to study. Even when she wanted to continue her education after the marriage, her husband did not allow her. So in tribal communities, female education does not have much importance, and her decisions and opinions are not respected. She says that we as females are just objects in the hands of the male and domination (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana).
Conclusion
The study covered different schools in 5 states, 10 voluntary organizations and 50 teachers working in these schools. Over all, we can see that among 300 students, all of them are ST and most of them are Hindus. The mother tongue of the majority of these students is their own tribal traditional language. They come from very poor economic backgrounds where their family members earn money from agriculture or labour work. Their annual income is less than 25,000 in most cases. Most of them do not have electricity in homes, but they have mobile phones. Most of them use a hand pump or open well to get drinking water, and the sanitation system is also not there for the most. These students are in residential schools, and because of that, they get certain facilities to improve their skills and education, as they have a library, playground and computer labs in schools. Like other students, they also have certain phobias of subjects and classrooms as far their participation in the classroom is concerned. Gender discrimination is not there in schools as most of these schools are co-educational and hostels are safe for the girls as well. They get good food, good bedding, sufficient water and proper washrooms in the hostel to live a good life, and most importantly, they are getting education. Voluntary organizations are working for the students in the different parts of the country, mainly in rural, tribal-populated areas of the country.
It emerged that the majority of the students are first-generation learners. Hence, it would be unfair to expect their parents to assist them in their studies. The low-income levels of most of the parents preclude the possibility of engaging private tutors for their children. Teachers in such schools need to pay more attention to their students. The government departments/voluntary agencies should not feel content by merely providing financial support to such schools. They must ensure that there is true value for the amount spent. After all, money spent on education should never be regarded as an expenditure. Instead, it should be treated as an investment into the future of the nation.
The conclusion of the study finds that students from the poorest and socially disadvantaged backgrounds run the risk of dropping out of school or just stopping education at primary level. The government’s initiative to support girls from such categories needs to have an implementable plan for potential results. From the above discussions, one can understand the processes that operate at the more remote societal level. Structural factors and social norms interact with more immediate factors, such as household contexts (poverty, migration, culture, beliefs and social norms) and individual development (access to secondary education), and challenges in enforcing law, thereby leaving the girl child predisposed to the risk of early marriage. It is therefore in this context that advocacy with key stakeholders is important.
Furthermore, it analyses the idea of the capability approach to expand tribal children’s capabilities and association with human development because it would be underestimated if we would not discuss emancipation without linking it with the capability approach and human development. Capabilities correspond to the overall emancipation that leads to the life of a person having reason to value. Hence, it will also interrogate the interface among education, human development and capacity building with reference to tribal children (i.e., why the capacity approach is important for human development and how the capability approach is helpful in inclusion for tribal children who are socially excluded).
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.