Development of Tribals in Andhra PradeshPradesh- A case of Education -Dr. A.K. Vasudevachary@
India is a multi-racial country. Different parts have different cultural traits and levels of development. It is not uncommon to find that there are certain tribes, which are not yet touched even by the fringe of civilization. Aboriginals are examples of this. “The word tribe” is taken to denote a primary aggregate of people living in a primitive or barbarous condition under a headmen or chief” Tribe is a group of families living as a community under one or more chiefs, united by language and customs. Ther Theree are are 427 type typess amon among g the the sche schedu dule led d trib tribes es dwel dwelli ling ng all all over over Indi India. a. In Indi Indiaa percentage of tribal population to total population according to census 2001 is 8.10% and it was 6.87% in the year of 1961.The tribal population has been increasing gradually from 3.7 percent to 6.6 per cent in between 1961 and 2001. Among the scheduled tribes, the most important are the Gonds of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, the Bhils of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh and the Santhals of Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal. Tribes in Andhra Pradesh:
The history of the tribal of Andhra Pradesh dates back to the great epic mahabharatha. It had many ups and downs. Andhra Pradesh Pradesh has the highest tribal components components among the southern states of India. Almost all the tribes live in hilly and forest regions starting from Adilabad in the northwest to Srikakulam, Warangal, East of Khammam, West and East Godavari and Vishakhapatnam districts, all along the borders of Maharashtra, Madhya pradesh and Orissa. There is a small pocket of tribal concentration in the heart of Andhra pradesh in the famous hill ranges of Nallamali of Mahabubnagar Nalgonda and Kurnool districts Andhra Pradesh is the traditional home of nearly 33 tribal groups and most of them can be found inhabiting in the border areas of Andhra Pradesh in the north and northeast. Out of 33 recognised scheduled tribes in Andhra Pradesh, 30 groups are mostly found living in the sprawling 30030 sq km. Of scheduled areas and contiguous non-scheduled sub plan plan area area in the distri districts cts of Srika Srikakul kulam, am, Vizian Vizianaga agarmm rmm,, Vishaka Vishakapat patnam nam,, East East Godavari, West Godavari, Khammam, Warangal, Adilabad and Mahaboobnagar. The scheduled area in the state, which is the chief habitat of tribal groups Andhra Pradesh, constitutes 11% of the total geographical area of the state. The density of population in tribal areas is 125 persons per sq km as against 194 in the plain areas. In addition to scheduled villages, non-scheduled villages on the basis of contiguity and predominant tribal population are included in tribal sub plan. Vishakapatnam district is having the
highest number of scheduled villages and Mahabubnagar is having the least, with regard to area Khammam district is having largest geographical area under scheduled areas. Among the recognized tribal in Andhra Pradesh, according census 2001, highest order of tribal in terms of per centage are spread over the various districts in the following order. Khammam, Adilabad, Visakha patnam, warangal, Nalgonda, Nellore The basic problem of the tribal people is poverty. The problems of low standard of living, hunger, starvation, malnutrition, illiteracy, disease, poor sanitary and housing facilities etc., are all at high degree compare with the non-tribal. Further, the non-tribal such as moneyl moneylende enders, rs, forest forest contrac contractor tors, s, trader traders, s, landlo landlords rds,, offici officials als and politi politician cianss has subjected them to exploitation for centuries together. This is due to their ignorance of about about modern modern insti institut tution ions, s, scient scientif ific ic and techno technolog logica icall develop developmen ments ts and changi changing ng environment environment.. Therefore, Therefore, Govt of India initiated initiated special schemes for the development development of tribal areas to supplement the benefits accruing from general programs of development in different fields. They can be grouped broadly under four headings a) Communications b) Education Education and culture c) Development Development of tribal tribal economy d) Health, Health, housing and water supply. Among the above programs, Education and culture can play an important role to bring changes in the lives of tribal. tribal. . Most people people and particularly particularly the decision decision makers in the government think that education is just a social service and is meant only to improve the quality of man’s life. The importance of education in production is rarely recognized. But Economists like Adam smith, Say, Senior, List, Roscher, Ernst, Engel, Marx, Walras and Fisher considered human beings or their skills through education as productive resource which promote economic growth Need for Nature of Tribal Education:
Thoug Though h in the the stat statee of Andhr Andhraa prad prades esh, h, in the the inte intere rest st of the the devel develop opme ment nt of ST commu communi nity ty in-t in-ter erms ms of Educ Educat atio ion, n, Gover Governm nmen entt has has been been givi giving ng full full suppo support rt in implementing several educational developmental programs. The The Indi Indian an cons consti titu tuti tion on (Art (Artic icle le 46) 46) envi envisa sage ged d spec specia iall prov provis isio ions ns in the the post post independence period for the promotion of education of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and this was special responsibility of Central & State Governments. The need for providing education as well as bringing these sections of population into the main stream of development process was seen by social reformers and political leaders, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s Ideas of Education. Srithakkar bapa, a social reformer initia initiated ted moves moves to improv improvee the educat education ional al standa standards rds of the triba triball commun communiti ities es the country one such institution he developed was ‘Ashram Schools’. Also the committees and commissions like Renuka Ray Committee (1961), Elwin Committee (1960), and Dhebar Commission Commission (1962) have recommended recommended the establishme establishment nt of Ashram schools. schools. Grigson(1943) who had first hand experience of the problems of tribes, pleads that we
need to introduce among the tribes such a kind of education, which would restore/build confidence in them. However, government has been implementing several educational programmes for the develop developmen mentt of tribe tribess in Andhra Andhra prades pradesh. h. The import important ant scheme schemess includ included ed in the programs for the expansion of education educa tion facilities among scheduled tribes are the opening of various types of schools, award of scholarships, providing hostel facilities, stipends, stationery grants, boarding grants, mid-day meals etc. The central and State governments have also provided for the reservation of seats in educational institutions for students belongi belonging ng to schedu scheduled led tribes tribes,, some some relaxa relaxatio tion n in the criter criteria ia for admis admissio sion n is also also practiced. The educational programs of the Central government include award of postmetric metric scholarship scholarships, s, provision provision of girls girls hostels, hostels, pre-examin pre-examination ation training training centers, centers, and coachin coaching-c g-cumum-gui guidanc dancee facil faciliti ities es to tribal tribal student studentss appeari appearing ng for IAS and oversea overseass scholarships, In addition to these, there are schemes in the State sector for provision of pre-metric scholarships and stipends, exemptions from tuition fees and examination fees, education equipment, mid day meals etc. Schemes are also being operated to train the tribal to work as teachers in their own areas. State government has proposed to spent total amount on Education of Rs. 274,63,24 thousands under its 2004-05 budget estimates. Keeping in view of the employment needs of the scheduled tribes, increase in educational facilities to them and their meager representation in government services, reservations in different services and posts have been allowed for the members of the scheduled tribes. In the case of recruitment made on the basis of an all–India competition, 71/2 % of the vacancies are reserved for the scheduled tribes. Reservations in direct recruitment to class III and class IV post, which normally attract candidates from a locality or region, are fixed in proportion to the population of the scheduled tribe in the respective states and union territories. In certain cases where promotions are to be made from departmental candidates in class II,III,and IV posts, reservation for scheduled tribes is made at 7.5% of the vacanci vacancies es in the case of promoti promotion on by select selection ion from class class II to class class I posts posts employees belonging to scheduled tribes tribes are given on higher grading in in categorization of merit. This concession is confined to 25 % of the total vacancies in a grade in a year. Objective:
In view of the above, we made a modest attempt to observe the impact of Educational develop developmen mentt progra programs ms on the all round develop developmen mentt of schedul scheduled ed tribes tribes in Andhra Andhra Pradesh. Source of data:
The data collected mainly from the secondary sources such as: Tribal cultural research research &training Institute, Tribal welfare Department, Statistical Abstract of A P, Directorate of Economics Economics and Statisti Statistics, cs, Girijan Girijan Co-operati Co-operative ve Corporation Corporation ltd, APARD Hyderabad, Selected Educational Statistics, Statistics, Commissioner Commissioner and Director Director of School Education, Govt of A.P. Census Reports, Census Handbooks, Govt of India. Attempts will also made to have formal and informal interviews and discussions with the officials concerned at
Tribal research Institutes, Universities to elicit views, clarify issues and collect valuable un published data. Earlier Studies:
1. The scientific study of tribal economy in India was first undertaken by two scholars, D.S. Nag, and R.P. Saxena. Nag (1958) made an extensive field tour of the areas of Madhya Madhya Prades Pradesh h Like Like Mandla Mandla,, Bilasp Bilaspur, ur, Durg Durg and Balagha Balaghatt and studie studied d the Baiga Baiga economy in the context of the general economic theories laying emphasis on the sources of economy of the Baigas. Saxena(1964) followed the model of Nag and studied the tribes of western hills in Madhya Pradesh and presented the economy of five tribes. 2. Dr Ramaiah studied the ‘Tribal economy’ of Koyas of Warangal district for 102 tribal villages in 1981. The twin problems facing the tribes are credit and marketing. Land problems of the tribes are examined. This is supposed to provide a basis to evolve a developmental plan for the tribal area. 3. Sudharshan & others (1987) on tribal women education expressed that education should be relevant to the life of tribal women and be a part of an integrated program that comprises various dimensions like 1) health and family welfare 2) vocational skills 3) household technology. Of course, the major steps would be to bring about qualitative changes in the life style of the tribes, since a change from within the group is a remote possibility it is necessary to induced or bring about changes by external inputs and simultaneously curb the exploitation forces operating in these setting. 4. Varrier Elwin (1960) expressed his doubt about the very purpose of formal education for tribes, his argument was as to whether education, we give would lead the tribal children line in their traditional occupation with more incremental incomes in their areas or thus become frustrated frustrated without any means to live. So he suggested suggested that the education education should linked with their traditional crafts, arts and their skills. 5. Laxmai Laxmaiah ah & Yadappa Yadappa narer( narer(1986 1986)) observ observed ed that that the school schools, s, hostel hostel and ashram ashram schools were not properly equipped and maintained. Nor the available institutions are adequate to meet the requirement. 6. Rath (1981) viewed that the educational institutions in tribal areas were not equipped with proper facilities and equipment and run by unsuitable teachers. 7. Sachchitananda (1967) pointed out that the numerous programs of socio economic development undertaken in the tribal areas in India were not making much headway mainly due to the ignorance and illiteracy of the tribes.
Analysis: Educational Institutions:
Regarding the educational institutions and the student’s strength in tribal areas of Andhra prades pradesh, h, variou variouss types types of school schoolss establ establish ished ed such such as Girija Girijan n Vidyav Vidyavika ikass kendras kendras,, gurukula schools, Ashram Schools, Best available schools, Residential junior colleges and residential polytechnics. Among the districts of schedule tribal areas, out of 4317 GVVK Schools, the highest number of schools started in Adilabad (1392) in terms of percentage it is 32.24, followed by visakha patnam accounting for 17.16%. Out of 594 Ashram Schools, Adilabad and Visakhapatnam are in the first, two places interms of number of schools followed by the remaining schools, but out of 60 Gurukula Schools start started ed in Schedul Scheduled ed tribal tribal areas, areas, more more number number of school schoolss appeare appeared d in Khamma Khammam, m, Visakhapatnam followed by Adilabad, Warangal, Vizaianagaram. Best available schools are more (12) in Warangal accounting accoun ting for 10.5% and also are established in other districts of the tribal areas. In tribal areas of Andhra pradesh pradesh all institutions institutions together together establish established ed are 5091 of which 4757 institutions were available only in these scheduled tribal areas, which is accounting for for 93.4% 93.4%.. as par as conce concern rned ed with with the the stre strengt ngth h of the the stud studen ents ts in all all types types of Institutions, in Visakhapatnam district more percentage of students enrolled during 200203. School Complexes:
The The analy analysi siss of scho school ol comp comple lexe xess and and trai traini ning ng inst instit itut utes es reve reveal alss that that ther theree is a remarkable improvement in terms of number of ITDA school complexes, which were established in the areas of Sitampet, Parvathipuram and, Paderu of mostly backward tribal areas. Pre-examination training centers and vocational training institutes were also spread over the scheduled tribal areas under ITDA, but the number of institutions is distributed at different places. Post-metric scholar ships:
In order to encourage the students to join in the schools, Government has introduced post-metric scholarships to the students belonging to scheduled tribes from 1948-49 the year of inauguration of the scheme. Besides, hostel facilities were also provided to attract the scheduled tribe students to the schools. There has been a spectacular increase in the number number of schol scholar arsh ship ipss gran grante ted d and and the the expe expendi nditu ture re incu incurr rred ed.. More More numb number er of scholarships are awarded in Visakha patanam district (9500) involving an expenditure of 372.62 lakhs.the number of scholarships awarded next in the district of khammam are 7400 which accounts for (465.51) lakhs expenditure. Which is accounting for 14.5% and 11.3% respectively. In Andhra pradesh total number of awards are given are 65,450 worth of 3660 lakhs of which 37,850 scholarships accounting for 48% awarded in the above mentioned tribal areas and its worth was Rs. 1746.57 lakhs.
The Post-metric scholarship sponsored by state for ST students are sanctioned as follows: for the students of professional and non professional PG courses, the mess charges fixed as Rs. 475/- per month, including pocket money Rs. 50/- per month and graduates and under graduates graduates mess charges charges fixed at Rs. 400/- per month. During During 2004-05 the number of ST benef benefic icia iari ries es unde underr the the sche scheme me are are 72,6 72,685. 85. Tota Totall numbe numberr of trib tribal al host hostel el established are 198 and total number of students stayed in them are 39,771. Of the total number of hostel , 46 hostel are established in Khammam followed by Warangal (42), EastEast- Godavar Godavari(2 i(22), 2), Vizain Vizainagar agaram( am(21) 21) and Mahabub Mahabubnag nagar( ar(20) 20) in that that order. order. The respective percentages are 10.5%, 9.6%, 9. 6%, 5.2%, 4.8% and 4.5% in respective districts. At the outset, it is clear that the Government of Andhra pradesh has allocated amount not only for the expansion of various types of educational institutions, training institutes and also for hostels and post metric scholarships which generates creativity self confidence among the tribal. Enrolment and dropouts:
Analysis pertaining to the enrolment and dropouts of ST students shows that the number of boy’s enrolment is more than the girl’s enrolment in tribal area. Further, it is clear that the highest number of boys were enrolled (54,220)in Khammam district accounting for 11.6% followed by Visakhapanam (44,849), and Warangal (44,227) . Girls enrollment is also the highest in the Khammam district followed by Warangal and Viskapatnam. As regards dropout rates concerned, girls dropout rates are more in almost all scheduled tribal areas in compare with boys dropout rates and more percentage of dropouts in respect of girls are found in Mahabubnagar Mahabubn agar (88.46%), Adilabad (86.38%) followed by the remaining districts. It may be because of migration and most backwardness compared with other scheduled areas. This is the time to observe the impact of these various educational programmes . impact is considered by taking the performance of students in SSC exams during the period of 1998 to 2004. the figures shows that over a period of time the performance of students in terms of pass percentage has been increasing from 59.4% in 1998 to 92.1% by 2004, which is more than the state average. This is an indicator of the positive impact of above programmes on educational development of scheduled tribes. So that we can conclude that the government constant efforts on the development activities of scheduled tribes proved satisfactory. Conclusions:
In the Tribal area, for its educational development, government has implemented several educational programmes in the plan period. Of all the educational institutions, institutions, majority institutions were located in the scheduled areas only. The enrolment of students in these schools is remarkable and due to certain reasons dropouts are also there but girls dropouts are more than the boys. The impact of the different educational programmes on their educational development was appreciable.
Bibliography:
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