Tribal Education

Title-Growing Educated Citizenry of Tribal Community in Himachal Pradesh- A Panacea for Human Resource Development *Rama Sharma
**Dr. Jai Singh Parmar

*Rama Sharma
*Assistant Professor, Manav Bharti University, SOLAN, H.P. E-mail: [e-mail], [e-mail],
Mob.-9418246110
Postal Address: c/o Shezeb Khan, Khan Building, Near Jwala Mata Mandir, Thodo Ground, Solan, H.P. Pin 173212

**Dr. Jai Singh Parmar
**Associate Professor, Himachal Pradesh University Business School, Summer Hill, SHIMLA-171005, E-mail: [e-mail], Mob.-9418160845 Postal Address: Himachal Pradesh University Business School, Summer Hill, SHIMLA-171005,

Growing Educated Citizenry of Tribal Community in Himachal Pradesh- A Panacea for Human Resource Development *Rama Sharma
**Dr. Jai Singh Parmar

ABSTRACT
Education is a critical input in human resource development and is essential for the country’s economic growth. Though the major indicators of socio-economic development viz., the growth rate of the economy, birth rate, death rate, infant mortality rate and literacy rate, are all interconnected. The literacy rate has been the major determinant of the rise or fall in all other indicators. Education is a tool of transmission of culture, accumulated knowledge and experience of a society. It is also the tool for economic betterment and societal change. Within a developing country, the great divide seems to between the rich and the poor. The need for tribal development in India hardly needs any justification. Their primitive way of life, economic and social backwardness, low level of literacy, hackneyed system of production, sparse physical infrastructure in backward tribal areas and demographic quality of tribal areas coupled together make it imperative for a systematic process of development of tribal and tribal areas. The socio-economic development of Scheduled Tribes depends on learning and educational advancement. Education is more than a mere asset for some tribal communities hence, investment in education is, in a way, crucial for their existence. Continued economic exploitation has brought them to a state of helplessness exemplified by migrant labor, debt bondage, etc. A medium of education will equip them to deal with middlemen, merchants and traders on a better footing. Their inability to cope with the many novel forces impinging nowadays on tribal villages and on an economy which had remained virtually unchanged for centuries is by no means due to any innate lack of intelligence. Education is the most effective instrument for ensuring equality of opportunity. Keeping in view of this assumption, the government has been making several efforts towards their education by extending special educational facilities and reservation of seat in educational institutions as per the provisions of the constitution of India. But the development of education is one of the important problems in the case of tribal in India. Through this paper, an effort has been made to explore the factors affecting the education of tribal students. Further, in this study an attempt has been made to find out the impact of formal education on the development of tribal people of Himachal Pradesh.

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*Assistant Professor, Manav Bharti University, SOLAN, H.P. E-mail: [e-mail], [e-mail], Mob.-9418246110
**Associate Professor, Himachal Pradesh University Business School, Summer Hill, SHIMLA-171005, E-mail: [e-mail], Mob.-9418160845

PRELUDE
The Development of Nation is not measured through the buildings it has built, the roads it has laid down, the bridges it has constructed and the like but by the human resources the nation has developed through well defined system of education. Education is the most crucial factor not only to equip the new generation with skills so essential for earning livelihood but also to create among them an awareness to social and environment realities, inculcates in them scientific temper independence of mind and spirit which are of paramount importance for them to become responsible citizen. The classification of the economies into developed, developing and underdeveloped is done on the basis of several socio-economic parameters. Social infrastructure makes the country’s manpower more efficient, qualitative and productive. Education and training, health and Medicare, social security and insurance and various civic amenities are parts of social infrastructure. (Kumar, 1996).
Education is a critical input in human resource development and is essential for the country’s economic growth. Though the major indicators of socio-economic development viz., the growth rate of the economy, birth rate, death rate, infant mortality rate and literacy rate, are all interconnected. The literacy rate has been the major determinant of the rise or fall in all other indicators. Education is a tool of transmission of culture, accumulated knowledge and experience of a society. It is also the tool for economic betterment and societal change. Within a developing country, the great divide seems to between the rich and the poor. The need for tribal development in India hardly needs any justification.
Education also prevails in illiterate societies, where it is imparted orally and by mass behavior. A member of primitive society learns to earn his livelihood, to do good works, to obey spiritual beings and also superstitions etc from the elders of the society and bind by its laws and regulations. These are the education for them. We the modern people do mean "education as reading and writing”. This is also true. By modern education a person can able to increase his knowledge and expand his vision and avail the fruits or development (Sen, 2007). Hence modern education can play the role of catalyst in bringing sea changes in the sphere of social, political, economic fields. One of the important reasons for failure of development activities in the society by various developmental agendas is the prevalence of acute illiteracy and ignorance, combined with superstitions among the rural masses (Malyadri, 1990). Hence to ward off economic backwardness, social deprivation spreading of education is regarded as one of the most effective and forward-looking instruments. The admission of the disadvantaged groups to educational & training programmes is the part of wider concern of promoting the educational process throughout one’s life, the indispensable condition not only for a durable integration into the job market, but also for active citizenship (Sujatha,1999).
TRIBES IN INDIA
India has the largest concentration of tribal people anywhere in the world except perhaps in Africa. According to Article 342 of the Constitution, the Scheduled Tribes are the tribes or tribal communities or part of or groups within these tribes and tribal communities which have been declared as such by the President through a public notification. A tribe is a group comprising families, alone, or generation having its own customs, occupying a specific geographic territory and being independence of or having little contact with the dominant national society of the country in which they live. Tribal of India resides in such a territory, which is marked by the presence of hills, forest, islands, mountains, seacoasts etc. They live in a special geographical territory. The tribal are the children of nature and their lifestyle is conditioned by the eco-system. India due to its diverse ecosystems has a wide variety of tribal population. Tribe’s people constitute 8.14% of the total population of the country, numbering 84.51 million (2001 Census). There are 697 tribes notified by the Central Government under Article 342 of the Indian Constitution with certain tribes being notified in more than one State. More than half the Scheduled Tribe population is concentrated in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Jharkhand and Gujarat whereas in Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Pondicherry and Chandigarh no community has been notified as a Scheduled Tribe. Due to isolation, unawareness and exploitation tribes in India facing economic and social problems. For promoting the welfare of schedule tribes and for raising the level of administration of schedules and tribal areas to the state level, Article 275 of the constitution provides grants in aid from consolidated fund of India to states for implementation of developmental programmes. And the article lies down as a Directive Principle of State Policy that the State should promote, with special care, the education and economic interest of the weaker sections (Nidheesh, 2008).
The development of the tribal population in India has been a major concern of the government, voluntary agencies, NGOs, social reformers, social scientists etc. Since independence, particularly with the inception of five years plans, concern for tribal development has always been high on the government’s agenda. The credit for this goes to both the farmers of the constitution and to our first prime minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who not only took a great deal of interest in tribal development, but also gave long term guidelines in this regard. He strongly believed that no development activity in the tribal areas should take place at the cost of tribal heritage. No doubt, in keeping with these broad guidelines and the provisions of the Constitution, a number of special schemes and programmes, including the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) and Integrated Tribal Development Programme (ITDP) were launched to develop the tribal regions of the counter. (Vaid &. et. al 2011).
Tribal population mainly contributes a major share of wide-spread poverty in the nation. The level of the socio-economic development varies considerably between tribal and non-tribal population, between one tribe and another tribe and even among different subgroup of tribal groups. These disparities and diversities make tribal development and micro level planning of tribal at the grass root level imperative. More than ninety per cent of the ST population depends upon agriculture and allied activities in India (Kokate, C.N. and Solunke, R. S., 2011).
The trend in ST population since the census of 1961 to 2011 is illustrated in the table-1. The information presented in the table reveals that population of ST has increased from 30.1 million in 1961 to 84.3 million in 2001. Over the years in 2001 the percentage of tribal population from general population was 8.19% which indicate that the populations of ST have shown significant increase.
Table 1: Total population vis-a-vis scheduled tribe population of India ( in millions) Year | Total Population | ST Population | Percentage | 1961 | 439.2 | 30.1 | 6.85 | 1971 | 547.9 | 38.0 | 6.93 | 1981 | 665.3 | 51.6 | 7.75 | 1991 | 838.6 | 67.8 | 8.08 | 2001 | 1028.6 | 84.3 | 8.19 | 2011 | 1210.2 | - | - |
Source: Report of the Task Group on Development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes,
Planning Commission, 2005, Census2011, (-) indicates data not available.
FORMAL EDUCATION IN INDIA
Formal education is properly associated with schools. A more precise definition is supplied by Coombs (1973), “the hierarchically structured, chronologically graded educational system running from primary school through the university and including, in addition to general academic studies, a variety of specialized programs and institutions for full-time technical and professional training”. Article 46 of the Constitution states that, "The State shall promote, with special care, the education and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of social exploitation". Besides, the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP), the UPA Government contains provision aimed at to provide for full equality of opportunity, particularly in education and employment for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, OBCs and religious minorities". After independence, the Government of India has taken number of steps to strengthen the educational base of the persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Pursuant to the National Policy on Education-1986 and the Programme of Action (POA)-1992, the special provisions for SCs and STs have been incorporated in the existing schemes of the Departments of Elementary Education and Literacy and Secondary and Higher Education - relaxed norms for opening of primary/middle schools; a primary school within one km walking distance from habitations of population up to 200 instead of habitations of up to 300 population, abolition of tuition fee in all States in Government Schools at least up to the upper primary level. In fact, most of the states have abolished tuition fees for SC/ST students up to the senior secondary level, incentives like free textbooks, uniforms, stationery, schools bags, etc., for these students. 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. Tilak reports that household expenditure on education is sizeable; households from poor socio-economic backgrounds (i.e. ScheduledCastes/Scheduled Tribes) often spend considerable amounts of their income on education. This includes elementary education, which is supposed to be provided free by the government. Significant expenditure is made on books, uniforms and fees. Scheduled Tribes often spend much more on elementary education than others groups (i.e. non-Scheduled Caste/Tribe households), even in government schools. For instance, in Himachal Pradesh, Scheduled Tribe households reportedly spend Rs. 966 per child per year in government schools, while Scheduled Caste households spend Rs. 752 and ‘others’ spend Rs. 760 ( Tilak, 2002). On the other hand, it has been argued that the case of the states of Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have confirmed that the link between low enrolment in schools and household poverty is only a weak one, and therefore that universal basic education in India is an achievable goal, if implemented with genuine political will (Filmer and Pretchett, 1998, cited in Alexander, 2003).
The central government, in partnership with state governments, has initiated a number of programmes to fulfill the Constitutional obligation and national aspirations (National Portal Content Management Team, 2011): Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA):Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is a historic stride towards achieving the long cherished goal of Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE) through a time bound integrated approach, in partnership with States. SSA, which promises to change the face of elementary education sector of the country, aims to provide useful and quality elementary education to all children in the 6-14 age groups.
District Primary Education Programme (DPEP): The thrust of the scheme is on disadvantaged groups like girls, SCs/STs, working children, urban deprived children, disabled children, etc. There are specific strategies for girls and SCs/STs; however, physical targets are fixed, in an integrated manner including coverage of these groups as well. According to a study by NIEPA, schools in DPEP districts had more than 60 per cent students belonging to SC/ST communities.
Mahila Samakhya (MS): MS addresses traditional gender imbalances in educational access and achievement. This involves enabling women (especially from socially and economically disadvantaged and marginalized groups) to address and deal with problems of isolation and lack of self-confidence, oppressive social customs and struggle for survival, all of which inhibit their empowerment.
Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya: Under the scheme, 750 residential schools are being set up in difficult areas with boarding facilities at elementary level for girls belonging predominantly to the SC, ST, OBC and minorities.
Mid-Day Meal scheme: Mid-Day Meal scheme is a successful incentive programme. It covers all students of primary classes in all government, local body and government aided schools in the country with the aim to improve enrolment, attendance and retention while simultaneously impacting on the nutritional status of the children.
Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL):The Central Institute of Indian Languages Mysore has a scheme of development of Indian Languages through research, developing manpower and production of materials in modern Indian Languages including tribal languages.
The Institute has worked in more than 90 tribal and border languages.
Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs): 15 per cent and 7.5 per cent seats are reserved for SCs and STs respectively in fresh admissions. No tuition fee is charged from scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students up to class XII.
Navodaya Vidyalaya (NVs) :Reservation of seats in favour of children belonging to SCs and STs is provided in proportion to their population in the concerned district provided that no such reservation will be less than the national average of 22.5 per cent (15 per cent for SCs and 7.50 per cent for STs) .
National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS): Concession in fee to SC/ST candidates
The SC/ST students are given concession in admission fees to the extent of Rs.450/- for Secondary Courses and Rs.525/- for Senior Secondary Courses. Out of 43,000 scholarships at the secondary stage for talented children from rural areas 13,000 scholarships are awarded to SC/ST students subject to fulfillment of criteria laid down.
National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) Educational development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is an area of major concern of NIEPA. It carries out a number of studies relating to educational programmes and schemes for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. It has also been generating material relating to educational institutions and development of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students.
University Grants Commission (UGC):UGC provides financial assistance to universities/deemed universities for the establishment of SC/ST cells in Universities to ensure effective implementation of reservation policy for SCs and STs.

LITERACY RATE
The literacy rate of total population and ST population has been given in table-2. The data presented in the table shows that the achievements made in the literacy rates of Scheduled Tribes are also significant in 2001 as compared to those in the 1991 Census, i.e. 47.10 % and 29.60 % respectively. Besides, the growth in female literacy amongst Scheduled Tribes is also growing. the literacy rate among ST females in 1961 was 3.16 % which increased to 34.76% in 2001. Moreover the gap between the literacy rate of total and ST population is also reducing during the various decades ( 27.28% in 1981 to the 18.27% in 2001).
Table 2: Literacy Rate of Total, ST Population and Gap in Literacy in India Year | Total | ST | Gap in Literacy Rate | | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | 1961 | 34.44 | 12.95 | 24.02 | 13.83 | 3.16 | 8.53 | 20.61 | 9.79 | 15.49 | 1971 | 39.45 | 18.69 | 29.45 | 17.63 | 4.85 | 11.30 | 21.82 | 13.84 | 18.15 | 1981 | 56.50 | 29.85 | 43.63 | 24.52 | 8.04 | 16.35 | 31.98 | 21.81 | 27.28 | 1991 | 64.13 | 39.29 | 52.21 | 40.65 | 18.19 | 29.60 | 23.48 | 21.1 | 22.61 | 2001 | 75.85 | 54.16 | 65.37 | 59.17 | 34.76 | 47.10 | 16.68 | 19.4 | 18.27 | 2011 | 82.14 | 65.46 | 74.04 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Note:(Figures in %) Source: Registrar General of India & Census 2001 & 2011, (-) indicates data not available.
TRIBES OF HIMACHAL PRADESH The word Himachal means mountains of snow (Him-snow and Anchal-mountain). The compact region now known as Himachal Pradesh, was in fact earlier divided into 30 odd principalities called the Punjab Hill state, which gradually gain the status of full-fledged state of the Indian Union from 25th January, 1971. The state is located on the north west of the country. The attitude of the state ranges from 350 metres to 6975 metres above the main sea level. The state has an area of 55673sq.km. Himachal Pradesh is divided into 3 zones, 12 districts, 51 subdivisions, 72 blocks, 2922 Gram Panchayats having 16997 villages. Himachal Pradesh after getting the status of full- fledged state started making concerted efforts to improve the economic conditions of the state. The state has made significant efforts in developing an educational and health infrastructure and transport and communication networks. These advances have made a positive impact on socioeconomic and demographic status of the state.
The Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts, in their entirety, and Pangi and Bharmour (now tehsil Bharmour and sub-tehsil Holi) Sub-Divisions of Chamba district constitute the Scheduled areas in the State, fulfilling the minimum criterion of 50% S.T. population. Tribes of Himachal Pradesh are scattered in different parts of this state and have occupied a considerable percentage of India. The tribal communities residing in different parts of Himachal Pradesh are sociable and by their own culture and tradition, they have marked their position in the Indian subcontinent. Dancing, musical melodies, festivals, fairs etc. bore evidence to it. They are by nature nomadic people and their customs and social structure make them identifiable from each other. The tribal population constitute the Kinners or Kinnaure, the Lahules, the Spitians, the Pangwalas, the Gaddis and the Gujjars. Their permanent and semi-permanent dwelling places are in Kinnaur, Lahaul. Pangi and Gadderan (Chamba and Bharmaur). As far as the occupations are concerned, these tribes of Himachal Pradesh have taken up the occupations including rearing of cattle and also raising of wool. There are quite a handful of tribes of Himachal Pradesh who have adapted to occupations like cultivation and also horticulture. The tribal population of Himachal Pradesh from 1951 to 2011 has been given in table-3. It is clear from table that Himachal Pradesh has a total population of 6,077900 as per the Census of India 2001 and the ST population stands as 4.02% of the total population. The population of Himachal has been increasing continuously over the years. However the growth rate of total population shows a decreasing trend over the last three decades. The schedule tribe population percentage to total population was just 0.26% in 1951 which has increased to 4.02% in the 2001.
Table 3 Total population vis-a-vis scheduled tribe population of H.P. Year | Total Population | Decennial Growth rate(Percentage) | Female per 000 male | Population of Schedule Tribes (Percentage) | 1951 | 2385981 | 5.42 | 912 | 0.26 | 1961 | 2812463 | 17.87 | 938 | 4.35 | 1971 | 3460434 | 23.04 | 958 | 4.09 | 1981 | 4280818 | 23.71 | 973 | 4.61 | 1991 | 5170877 | 20.79 | 976 | 4.22 | 2001 | 6077900 | 17.54 | 968 | 4.02 | 2011(P) | 6856509 | 12.81 | 974 | - |
Source: State Statistical Abstract of H.P. 2010-11, Department of Economics & Statistics, H.P. Shimla-9, Govt. Press, (-) indicates data not available.

EDUCATION IN HIMACHAL PRADESH
Himachal Pradesh has one of the highest literacy rates in India next to Kerala. Himachal Pradesh has a literacy rate of 83.78 per cent and gender ratio at 974/1000, according to the 2011 Census figures. Hamirpur District is among the top districts in the country for literacy. Education rates among women are quite encouraging in the state. In recent years, Himachal Pradesh has reversed a previous negative trend and achieved the lowest dropout rates both for both Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. This is due to active state intervention in the educational field, as primary education has remained a consistent priority of the state government, despite different political parties assuming power in the past years. This has provided the necessary conditions for Himachal Pradesh to achieve and sustain an impressive level of success in the primary education sector ( De et al, 2002). The standard of education in the state has reached to a considerably high level as compared to other states in India (Educational Profile of Himachal Pradesh, 2007). The state has several reputed educational institutes for higher studies. The government is working constantly to prepare various plans and projects in order to strengthen the education system of the state. In meeting the constitutional obligation to make primary education compulsory, Himachal has now became the first state in India to make elementary education accessible to every child in the state (Dua, 2006). The state has committed high level of investment in providing elementary education in sparsely inhibited areas such as Lahul- Spiti, Kinnaur and Chamba where school size is 13 and 23 at the primary and upper primary levels respectively. With a view to bring all eligible children to the school system and also retain them in schools, a variety of incentives have been made available to them some of which are briefly as under (Annual Tribal Area Sub-Plan 2011-12):-
Primacy Classes (I-V): a) Free textbooks are provided to all students studying in tribal areas. b) Free writing material is provided to the students in Tribal Area. c) Free Uniform is provided to students in the Tribal area.
Middle Classes (VI – VIII): a) Free Text Books are provided to all the ST Students studying in classes I to VIII. b) 15 Free Hostels have been established for ST Students where in addition to free boarding & lodging, Rs. 100/- p.a. is also given to them for the purchase of writing material.
c) Education is free to all up to 8th Class, whereas the Girls Education free up to University level including profession courses within the State. Elementary Education: Directorate of Primary Education was set up in 1984 further renamed as Directorate of Elementary Education w.e.f. 1-11-2005 with an objective to improve access, quality and help in achieving the ultimate goal of universalisation of elementary education.
Hot Mid Day Meal: National programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education popularly known as Mid Day Meal Scheme is being implemented in Primary Schools of the State w.e.f. 15th August, 1995, with an objective of Universalisation of Primary Education, to increase enrollment, retention and attendance, simultaneously, redressing to the problem of under-nutrition among students in primary classes.
Sarv-Shiksha Abhiyan: This programme was started in the State during the year 2001-02. Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan launched by the Government of India for achieving the goal of Universal Elementary Education (UEE) in the country has also been adopted by the State Government. Its objective is to provide elementary education to all children up to the age of 6-14 years. Education of girls and children belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes are identified for special focus.
Secondary Education: The schemes are as a) Infrastructure Improvement. b) Incentives to attract and retain the students in the schools. c) Free Hostels at Sangla, Killar, Saach, Keylong, Tabo, Bharmour and Holi. d) Various Scholarships. e) Free Text Books. f) Recurring exp. on Eklvya Model Residential School Nichar, Distt. Kinnaur g) Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Govt. of India has approved the implementation of Centrally Sponsorred Scheme Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan to universalize access to improve quality of education at
Secondary stage during 11th Five Year Plan 2007-12.
Technical Education:To provide vocational training to the students of tribal areas of the State, five Industrial Training Institutes viz. Reckong Peo in Distt. Kinnaur, Bharmour & Pangi at Killar in Distt. Chamba, Udaipur(Lahaul) and Rong- Tong(Spiti) in District Lahaul & Spiti are functioning in the state. In addition to above, one Industrial Training Institute for women at Reckong Peo in Distt. Kinnaur is also functioning.
Himachal Pradesh has a literacy rate of 83.78%, according to the 2011 Census figures. As shown in table 4, in 2011 the overall literacy rate was about 83.78% with male literacy rate of 90.83% and female literacy rate 76.60%. It is clear from table 5, Literacy percentage among Scheduled tribes has increased from 47.1% in 1991 to 65.5%in 2001 the males literacy rate was 77.7 %and females literacy rate 53.3% in 2001.
Table-4: Growth of Literacy in Himachal Pradesh Year | Male | Female | Total | 1951 | 11.94 | 4.02 | 7.98 | 1961 | 30.94 | 11.12 | 21.03 | 1971 | 43.19 | 20.23 | 31.71 | 1981 | 53.19 | 31.46 | 42.33 | 1991 | 75.36 | 52.13 | 63.75 | 2001 | 85.35 | 67.42 | 76.48 | 2011 | 90.83 | 76.60 | 83.78 |
Source: Directorate of Primary Education H.P.
Table-5: District-wise literacy rate among scheduled tribes population in H.P. Sr.No. | District | 1991 Census | 2001 Census | | | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | 1 | Bilaspur | 61.8 | 34.3 | 48.4 | 78.1 | 55.8 | 67.3 | 2 | Chamba | 53.5 | 19.8 | 36.7 | 71.6 | 42.7 | 57.1 | 3 | Hamipur | 100.0 | 71.4 | 96.2 | 69.2 | 46.9 | 60.6 | 4 | Kangra | 87.1 | 40.3 | 78.9 | 69.3 | 57.7 | 64.0 | 5 | Kinnaur | 74.1 | 45.3 | 59.2 | 85.0 | 64.7 | 74.6 | 6 | Kullu | 79.4 | 56.5 | 68.2 | 77.8 | 70.6 | 79.2 | 7 | Lahulspiti | 72.1 | 39.0 | 55.3 | 85.6 | 61.7 | 73.5 | 8 | Mandi | 76.4 | 39.8 | 58.5 | 78.5 | 57.6 | 68.0 | 9 | Shimla | 68.8 | 51.7 | 61.2 | 91.2 | 81.7 | 87.0 | 10 | Sirmour | 44.7 | 20.1 | 33.5 | 63.7 | 40.7 | 53.0 | 11 | Solan | 71.2 | 40.5 | 57.6 | 79.9 | 58.2 | 70.2 | 12 | Una | 95.7 | 50.0 | 90.6 | 45.9 | 50.0 | 46.7 | | H.P. | 62.7 | 31.2 | 47.1 | 77.7 | 53.3 | 65.5 |
Source: Primary Census Abstract, census of India 1991 & 2001
Table-6 Number of Educational Institutions in Himachal Pradesh Year | Primary Schools | Middle Schools | High/Higher Secondary | College of General Education | Universities | 2005-06 | 10613 | 2112 | 1654 | 47 | 3 | 2006-07 | 10607 | 2168 | 1851 | 65 | 3 | 2007-08 | 10734 | 2299 | 2047 | 68 | 3 | 2008-09 | 10738 | 2291 | 2058 | 67 | 3 | 2009-10 | 10751 | 2339 | 2100 | 67 | 3 | 2010-11 | 10767 | 2303 | 2094 | 67 | 4 |
*Govt. Institutions only. Source: Education Deptt. H.P
Table-7 : Total enrollment in schools and colleges in H.P. Year | Primary Schools | Middle Schools | High/Higher Secondary | College of General Education | | Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | 2005-06 | 276049 | 267756 | 181357 | 172240 | 169972 | 150739 | 33762 | 30378 | 2006-07 | 263687 | 255805 | 159590 | 158189 | 213832 | 202206 | 32639 | 36579 | 2007-08 | 254047 | 249877 | 135597 | 132842 | 207740 | 188971 | 28933 | 35188 | 2008-09 | 212697 | 207522 | 149413 | 142465 | 215306 | 191299 | 31451 | 40024 | 2009-10 | 221517 | 219473 | 166005 | 160877 | 198800 | 195832 | 34307 | 44435 | 2010-11 | 210780 | 211930 | 158910 | 152790 | 204287 | 196118 | 37837 | 49082 |
Source: Education Department.Govt.of Himachal Pradesh

Table-8: District-wise schedule tribe enrollment in schools District | Primary Schools | Upper Primary Schools | | Boys | Girls | Total | Boys | Girls | Total | Bilaspur | 434 | 424 | 858 | 389 | 321 | 710 | Chamba | 6969 | 6747 | 13716 | 5026 | 4541 | 9567 | Hamipur | 121 | 106 | 227 | 123 | 77 | 200 | Kangra | 2481 | 2434 | 4915 | 2595 | 2443 | 5038 | Kinnaur | 837 | 1095 | 1932 | 1094 | 1237 | 2331 | Kullu | 208 | 227 | 435 | 386 | 360 | 746 | Lahulspiti | 756 | 849 | 1605 | 591 | 686 | 1277 | Mandi | 582 | 553 | 1135 | 434 | 395 | 829 | Shimla | 262 | 216 | 478 | 295 | 185 | 480 | Sirmour | 583 | 456 | 1039 | 314 | 192 | 506 | Solan | 701 | 788 | 1489 | 914 | 773 | 1667 | Una | 357 | 335 | 692 | 338 | 302 | 640 | H.P. | 14291 | 14230 | 28521 | 12499 | 11512 | 24011 |
Source: Child Statistics in H.P. 2010

Table-9: Dropout rate of primary students in H.P. tribal areas District | Boys | Girls | Total | Chamba | 1.20 | 2.93 | 2.03 | Kinnaur | 5.84 | 4.04 | 4.95 | Lahulspiti | 8.09 | 3.82 | 5.90 | H.P. | 2.97 | 2.34 | 2.65 | Source: Project report- A study of Dropout Children in the Tribal area of H.P., Institue of Tribal Studies, Himachal Pradesh University Shimla, 2011

GROWTH OF LITERACY AMONG TRIBALS
Himachal Pradesh has one of the highest literacy rates in India next to Kerala. The standard of education in the state has reached to a considerably high level as compared to other states in India. In meeting the constitutional obligation to make primary education compulsory, Himachal has now became the first state in India to make elementary education accessible to every child in the state. Efforts made from the beginning of the planned era (1951) through various developmental plans, policies, special strategies and programmes, have registered a definite quantifiable improvement in the socio-economic status of the tribal. In H.P. the parents and the community assign great importance to the education of their children, therefore enrollment of tribal students has been increased steadily as shown in table-8. Moreover systematic measures have been adopted by state government to enroll out of school children. The drop-out rate, which is another crucial indicator in the field of educational development, also shows that there has been a steady decline in respect of both general and ST categories in Himachal Pradesh as clear from table-9. The dropout rate of schedule tribal students is only 2.65%. Himachal Pradesh Government on the one hand is making efforts to improve the accessibility to the schooling facilities by relaxing norms and opening the schools in the remote areas at the same time planning to use the school building as academic resource centre for the benefits of children and retain these building to facilitate community based educational activities in the form of computer centre, library centre and even use them to duplicate the concept of model cluster school. Participation of STs in administration is another indicator of positive impact of developmental planning on the status of STs. The major strategy of creating employment-cum-income-generation activities to alleviate poverty amongst STs has proved its impact in raising a large number of ST families above the level of Poverty Line. Participation of STs in administration is another indicator of positive impact of developmental planning on the status of STs. There is the representation of STs in the Himachal Administrative Service (HAS), Himachal Police Service (IPS) and All India Services of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS) and other categories. Affirmative discrimination through reservation for STs in the Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies and in the PRIs has established the growing strength of STs not only in terms of their participation in the democratic processes of the country since independence, but also in their representation in the political decision making institutions, i.e. Parliament, Legislative Assemblies and in the grass root democratic institutions viz., Panchayats and Local bodies.
PROBLEMS AND IRRITANTS IN THE EXPANSION OF EDUCATION FOR TRIBAL STUDENTS * The physical location of the villages -Most of the tribal villages are scattered. This entails long travels to attend schools. Most tribal villages have a population below 100. So, it becomes impossible to open up separate schools in each village where the required student’s strength is not available. On other land, tribal habitations remain segregated from each other by some physical barriers like rivers and forests. So these physical barriers create a hindrance for the children of a tribal village to attend the school in a neighboring village. * Communication- Communication one of the key factor affecting the development of tribal education. Due to isolation tribal facing problem for expressing modern and regional languages. For understanding tribal language very difficult generally in the case of society and particularly in teachers. So the students facing problem for discussing their doubt with teachers. So their doubt continuing and automatically tribal students became the last in the class * Economic factors-Some economic factors too are responsible for lack of interest shown by the tribal people in getting education. Since most of the tribal people are living in poverty, it is not easy for most of them to send their children to schools. * Teacher related problems-Teacher absenteeism continues to be a major issue in tribal areas due to long commute and low motivation levels. Teacher absenteeism in tribal areas is high as teachers most often live in cities. In tribal villages, villagers have virtually no relationship with the teachers. Teachers do not get any accommodation facility in the village, which makes them irregular which hampers the normal routine of a school. Further, the apathetic attitude of the villagers and their simplicity provide ample scope to the teachers to act according to their sweet will. The non-tribal teachers adopt an attitude of indifference to tribal languages, traditions, cultures and life-styles. They fail to perceive the human values ingrained in these folk cultures. When they try to impart an education which neglects these human values and culture, they fail to make it interesting for the tribal children. * Attitude of the parents-Tribal parents are basically illiterate. Their illiteracy does not permit them to understand the long term values of education. As education does not yield them any immediate economic return, they prefer to engage their children in remunerative employment which supplements the family income and strengthens the family economy. Further a few parents, who have become aware of the values of education, fail to accord education to their children as they cannot afford finances for it. * Lack of supervision-School inspectors (at the block and district level) are not active in solving problems associated with the primary schools in the tribal areas. The lack of a frequent and recurrent inspection mechanism no doubt aggravates the situation. * Social factors-Tribal social structure is different from that of the non-tribals. Different ethnic groups have different structural problems. There is still a widespread feeling among the tribals that education makes their boys defiant and insolent and alienates them from the rest of their society, while the girls turn modern or go astray. Since some of their educated boys felt alienated and cut off their bonds with their families and villages after getting education and good employment. * Lack of cooperation from stake holders- Cooperation is essentials for promoting education in the case of tribal students. Their funds are flowing a number of persons hand and at last that amount will get students hands. The delay of funds creating problem, so the respective authorities need to be responsible for providing funds at right time at right hand. And at last but not least the success of tribal education is completed only after getting the cooperation and help from their classmates. * Environment of family-Surrounding or environments is one of the importance factors influence for the development of a person generally and particularly in educational development. Most of the tribal parents are agricultures and labors; they have little knowledge relating to modern world and modern environment. Their environment narrows that created narrow mentality. As there is no education in the family background for generations, and the tribal child living in the fringes of non-tribal society finds himself cognitively unequal to the non-tribal child, the inferiority complex is built into his mind right from the beginning of formal schooling. Tribal students also have to help parents at home in the routine household work and in discharging sibling care responsibilities * Additional load of work of teachers-The teacher is the kingpin in any innovative educational programme. But the teacher who is ill-equipped both from the point of content and methodology, who is called upon to handle four classes simultaneously while looking after administration as well as feeding programme, has very little chance of being innovative. His handicap with the tribal language and his ignorance of the newer discoveries in the fields of teaching and learning further restrict him in his professional performance. * Curriculum -Curriculum that had been constructed and implemented for tribal children was without link to tribal people and their lives. School texts prescribed for the students are out of tune with their setting and pattern of life in the area, they encounter a strange world in the school text which goes beyond comprehension as it is an unfamiliar world without essential objects of their lives. This is one of the reasons that students lose interest in education * Study Material-Books are not supplied to the schools at the session beginning by the Tribal Welfare Department and the Text Book Press. This irregularity found in the supply of books creates problems both for the teachers and students. Further, stipends are not given in due time.
HOW TO MANAGE THE EFFECTIVE EDUCATION AMONG TRIBALS * A curriculum should be framed in the welfare of tribal people. Certain tribal activities like agriculture, dancing, hunting, tribal games and archery must be allowed to find fullest expression in the extra-curricular activities of the school, thus providing some continuity of the traditional values and forms of organization. * Study books must be prepared in tribal language up to upper primary level. Tribal students must be supplied with study materials and dresses free of cost. Every school must be well-equipped with all study materials. * Social source book for teachers may be prepared to develop the tribal knowledge such as folk songs, tales, proverbs, riddles, play songs, traditional games, dance, music etc. to impart joy of learning through the folklore and bridge the gap of home culture and school atmosphere. The teachers should use the colloquial native language while teaching the tribal children. * Teachers from the same tribe and from the nearby villages if possible from the same village should be appointed. Teachers must be paid regularly with free accommodation facility in school campus. * Each parent must be motivated to send their children above six years to school or teachers and parents may be legally bound to do this task. The school time table is co-opted with the agricultural and social necessities, which will facilitate the parents in economic development and educational development of the child. The parents should also invite the teachers to join in the various festivals organized in the villages. * Training at intervals to the Non-tribal teachers about the tribal culture and language should be provided. All NGOs functioning in the district may be involved in the process to educate all Tribal children from 6 to 14 years. * Creating seasonal hostels and residential schools for children of migratory parents. Addressing the health and nutritional needs of tribal children * Special incentives and allowance should be provided to the teachers working in tribal areas. They should be transferred to plain areas after serving 3/4 years in tribal areas. The teachers should establish a healthy rapport with the tribal students and create a positive environment for them.
CONCLUSION AND ACTION AREA
Human Resource Development is essential input for promoting the economic growth and development. Education is the single most important means by which individuals and society can improve personal endowments, build capacity levels, overcome barriers, and expand opportunities for a sustained improvement in their well being. Education has an intrinsic value for the development of the society and helps in the achievement of a better social order. Greater literacy and basic education help individuals to make better use of available economic opportunities. The Government has decided to make free and compulsory elementary education a fundamental. It is obvious, therefore, that a modicum of literacy is indispensable as a first step towards enabling tribal to operate within the orbit of the advanced communities dominating the economic and political scene. Some of the tribal areas in Himachal are undergoing significant socio-economic development changes in terms of literacy, educational patterns, societal structure and other aspects since inception of tribal sub-plan 1974. The data presented in table-5 makes it clear that the literacy rate of tribal people has shown tremendous increase in 2001(65.5%) as compared to 1991(47.1%). Over the years the enrollment in primary education and elementary as well as higher education has increased in H.P. In recent years, Himachal Pradesh has reversed a previous negative trend and achieved the lowest dropout rates both for both Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The dropout rate for schedule tribe in Himachal Pradesh is only 2.65% which infers a tremendous improvement over the past years. This is due to active state intervention in the educational field, as primary education has remained a consistent priority of the state government, despite different political parties assuming power in the past years. This has provided the necessary conditions for Himachal Pradesh to achieve and sustain an impressive level of success in the primary education sector. The standard of education in the state has reached to a considerably high level as compared to other states in India. The state has several reputed educational institutes for higher studies. The government is working constantly to prepare various plans and projects in order to strengthen the education system of the state. In meeting the constitutional obligation to make primary education compulsory, Himachal has now became the first state in India to make elementary education accessible to every child in the state. H.P. Govt. is now focusing on the remote areas and snowy areas. Activities are being undertaken to make people aware of their responsibility in respect of the education of the deprived group. Let this march continue towards the peak of excellence. Thus in this context we can said that there is Growing Educated Citizenry of Tribal Community in Himachal Pradesh- A Panacea for Human Resource Development.

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