Education of Tribal Children in India Contents Background STs and Literacy Strategies and Approach in SSA Provisions
under SSA Universalizing Access Universalizing Participation Quality Improvement Learning
Achievement Community Mobilization/involvement
Andhra Pradesh has developed bilingual dictionaries and teacher training has been organised in Warangal and Vizianegarem districts. For use of the bilingual material, Research studies have also been undertaken on the issue of language and Maths learning by tribal children. It has been decided to use the multi-level kits developed for tribal areas in Vishakapatnam district in other tribal areas also. Gujarat has developed dictionaries in Dangi and Bhili dialects. A local work glossary in Dangi has been prepared and distributed in schools for class I-IV in Dang district. Similarly a local word glossary in Adivasi dialect has been prepared for class I-IV in Banaskantha district and distributed in schools. The Vidyasahayaks were given training on the use of these dictionaries. Gujarat has also initiated extensive work for preparation of TLM in tribal languages. The TLM developed include flash cards for different languages and also cards for mathematics. These have been supplied to all school in tribal areas. Bridge Language Inventory has also been introduced in Ho and Mandavi languages in Ranchi district of
Bihar.SSA provides for a range of approaches and interventions for working children and out of school children. This includes summer camps, back to school camps, bridge courses, residential camps, remedial teaching centres, remedial classes etc.
Learning Achievement Earlier studies on learning achievement of tribal children at primary classes had shown lower levels of achievement compared to non tribals
(Govinda and Varghese 1993, Varghese 1994, Sujatha 1998, Prakash et al. 1998), although empirical evidence suggest that tribal children do possess the basic cognitive abilities and psychological dispositions for successful participation in schools. The low achievement levels among tribals are attributed to school-related variables as in the case of non-tribal students. Tribal students had additional disadvantages arising out of social and location factor
(Sujatha, 1998). Singh (1996) and Singh and Jayaswal (1981) have argued that low levels of parental
education, occupation, income and deprivation, are mainly responsible for poor performance of tribal children in the school. Other roadblocks include negative parental attitude to education, less parental support in schoolwork, low level of motivation and poor self-esteem of children.
Sinha and Mishra (1997) argue that tribal children can perform well in school if the intervention programmes directed at them can overcome their deprivation. However, learning achievement surveys conducted in DPEP show that in a majority of the districts the gap between achievement levels of ST children and other children has been reduced to less than 5%. The situation is better in language than in Maths.
20 There is a need to evolve sensitive model of tribal education rooted in the psychological strengths of tribal children. Studies indicate that, in comparison to other groups, hunters and gatherers possess a high level of visual and tactual differentiation, they demonstrate capacity for fine judgement of shape and size of stimuli as well as spatial relations, and produce the categorization of an array of objects
(Mishra et al., 1996). These abilities are greatly required for success in science, art, music, dance, athletic activities, and vocations like carpentry, tailoring, wood and stone crafts. These skills need to be utilized not only for education of tribal children in schools, but also in the broader economic spheres of tribal life. Such attempts will be helpful in generating and promoting the sense of competence, self-efficacy, self-respect, and positive self-image among tribal children in general
(Mishra, 2002). E.