UNIT 8 EDUCATION OF SCHEDULED

CASTES AND SCHEDULED TRIBES

Structure

8.1 Introduction
8.2 Objectives
8.3 Educational Situation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
8.4 Educational situation in the North-Eastern Region
8.5 Policy Framework
8.5.1 Constitutional Safeguards
8.5.2 National Policies
8.6 Focus of Five Year Plans
8.7 Special Schemes for Education of SCIST
8.7.1 Impact of Policies and Special Programmes
8.8 Probletns faced by SCIST Children in Schools
8 8 1 Teachers Ievel
8.9 Role of Teachers
8.10 LetUs SumUp
8.1 1 Check Your Progress: Possible Answers
8.12 Suggested Reading

8.1 INTRODUCTION
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are the two most disadvantaged sections of
the Indian society needing special attention. Together they form about a quarter of the
total population of the country (the scheduled castes about 16 percent and scheduled
tribes about 8 percent). There are, however, large statewise variations in the
proportion of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes population. While the scheduled
castes (SC) are concentrated in the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh,
West Bengal and Haryana, the scheduled tribes (ST) are mostly concentrated in the
North Eastern states and the states of central India.

A characteristic feature of scheduled groups is their predominantly rural residence.

They constituted more than 90 percent of the rural population of the country in 1961.
The situation is not much different now. For example, in the 1991 census more than
80 percent of SCIST population lived in rural areas as against the total rural
population of 73 percent. As per 1991 census the scheduled tribes constitute 95
percent of population of Mizoram; 86 percent in Nagaland; 66 percent in Arunachal
Pradesh; 34 percent in Manipur; 3 1 percent in Tripura; 23 percent in Sikkim and about
13 percent in Assam. Scheduled castes account for 19 percent of the population in
Tripura; 7 percent in Assam; 6 percent in Sikkim; 2 percent in Manipur; 0.5 percent in
Meghalaya, .l percent in Mizoram and none in Nagaland. Tripura is the only state in
the north-eastern region with substantial percentage of scheduled castes, in fact
percentage of scheduled castes in the total population of Tripura is more than the
national average of about 17 percent. In Tripura the two scheduled groups constitute
about half the population of the state.

The scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes are economically disadvantaged. The
extent of land available to them is much lower compared to general population.
Among the tribes, though the size of land may be higher, the land is generally of
inferior quality. The extent of indebtedness among the scheduled households is
greater than the general category.
The level of literacy among the scheduled groups has been very low. About 90 percent Education of SCs and STs
of these two groups were illiterate in 1961. However, some of these groups,
particularly among the scheduled tribes have higher literacy rates in most of the
North- Eastern states. The school enrolment among these groups as compared to
others also present the same picture, though at primary level the differences between
the scheduled and non-scheduled groups were minimal.

While both the scheduled groups are deprived, the source of their deprivation is
different. In the case of the scheduled castes, the deprivation is due to low place
accorded to them in the Hindu caste system where they are not only at the bottom of
the caste hierarchy but were also untouchables. The scheduled tribes have suffered
because of the long period of physical isolation as most of the tribes lived in remote
and inaccessible forest areas and were cut from modem civilization. The tribal
economy is based on primary production involving primitive technology. The high
rate of illiteracy among these groups made them susceptible to exploitation by certain
undesirable elements like moneylenders, middlemen etc. The tribes, however, have
their own culture and dialects and sometimes their own script, which they want to
preserve. To enable these groups benefit from the modern educational system, it is
important for teachers to understand them. In this module an effort is made in this
direction.

8.2 OBJECTIVES
After going through this Unit, you should be able to:

describe the educational situation of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in
general and in the states of North-East in particular
identify the constitutional commitment and constitutional provisions for the
disadvantaged sections of the society
find out the policies, programmes and special schemes in education for the
scheduled castes and scheduled tribes
develop an empathy for the disadvantaged sections of the society which wiIl result
in better teaching and learning
examine your role in promoting education of the scheduled castes and the
scheduled tribes

8.3 EDUCATIONAL SITUATION OF SCHEDULED

CASTES AND SCHEDULED TRIBES
Literacy Rates: Literacy is the most important indicator of the educational status of
any group. It is also highly related with other developmental indicators. The literacy
rates for the total population increased from 16.7 in 1951 to 65.2 percent in 2001.
Literacy rates for the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes increased from 10.4
percent and 8.5 percent in 1961 to 45.2 and 38.4 in 2001 respectively. Women
belonging to the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes continue to be most
illiterate. In 2001, the literacy rates for scheduled castes and scheduled tribe women
were only 34.6 and 28.4 respectively as against male literacy rates of 55.i and 48.3
percent.

Regional disparities in literacy abound among different states and within state among
different districts. Literacy rates for the country range from 47.5 in Bihar to 90.9 in
Kerala as per 2001 census. The literacy rates of the tribes in central tribal belt are
much Iower compared to general population, while for most of the north-eastern
states, the literacy rates are much higher than the national average.
Moving Towards Equality There are great differences among different castes and tribal groups. Literacy rates of
certain caste and tribal groups was below 1 percent in 1981, while in the case of
certain other caste and tribal groups the literacy was as high as 70 percent for the
scheduled castes (Ad Dharmi in Delhi) and 81.9 percent for a scheduled tribe ( Naga
in Meghalaya).

Enrolment Ratios: While literacy is a stock variable affected by the past

performance, enrolment ratio is a flow variable depicting the existing situation. There
has been spectacular increase in number of children enrolled at different levels of
education. At the primary level, the gross enrolment ratios for the boys and girls were
98.6 and 81.8 respectively in 1997-98. At the upper primary level, the gross enrolment
ratios were 70.8 per cent for boys and 52.8 percent for girls. For the scheduled castes
girls' enrolment ratios at the primary and middle level was only 76.2 and 44.3 percent
respectively. For the scheduled tribe girls, enrolment ratios were 83.3 and 36.6
respectively for the primary and upper primary levels.

Participation of the scheduled castes and tribes declines as one goes higher up the
level indicating their higher dropout rate. At the higher educational level the
proportion of the scheduled castes to the total enrolment ranges between 4-6 percent
and for the scheduled tribes the same ranges between 2-4 percent which is much lower
than their proportion in the total population.

Besides the quantitative differences among the scheduled and the non-scheduled
groups, a number of studies point to qualitative differences in the availability of
infrastructural facilities for the deprived and advantaged sections. Rural urban
differences in the schooling infrastructure continue to be sharp. Even in urban areas
the scheduled groups are concentrated in poor quality institutions, while the advanced
section make use of best schooling facilities.

Check Your Progress 1

(i) What is the picture of literacy rates of tribal in Central India and in North-
Eastern states compared to overall population?

(ii) Mention the qualitative differences between scheduled and non-scheduled

groups related to education?

8.4 EDUCATIONAL SITUATION IN THE NORTH-

EASTERN REGION
The North Eastern region of India comprises eight states of Arunachal Pradesh,
Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. As a whole,
the region accounts for 7.7 percent of the total land area in the country with only 4
percent of its population living in the region.
As per 2001 census 16.2 percent of the population of the country was scheduled castes Education of SCs and STs
and 8.2 per cent was scheduled tribes. Statewise percentage of scheduled castes and
scheduled tribes population is given in Table 1. From the table it can be observed that
Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland are predominantly tribal states with very few or
no scheduled castes. In Tripura, percentage of scheduled castes is more than the
national average. In fact the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes constitute about
half the population of Tripura.

Pradesh
Assam 1 6.85 6.69 7.92 12.41 13.59 4.481
Manipur 2.51 1.14 6.88 31.03 38.82 6.18
Meehalava
6 .
0.48 0.38 0.90 85.94 90.24 68.31
Mizoram 0.03 0.01 0.05 94.46 96.27 92.61
Nagaland 0.0 0.0 0.0 89.21 94.39 65.19
Sikkim 5.02 4.96 5.50 20.60 21.19 15.86
Tripura 17.37 17.17 18.34 31.05 36.48 4.66
Table 1: State-wise Percentage of Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes to total population, 2001

According to 2001 census, the literacy rates for the scheduled castes and the
scheduled tribes population at the national level were 54.7 percent and 47.1 percent
respectively as against overall literacy rate of 65.2 percent. Statewise literacy rates for
the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes for the North-Eastem states are given in
Table 2.

I 'late
1
Total Population

Males / Females I
Scheduled
Castes
Males I Females I
Scheduled Tribes

Males / Females
INDIA
/ 75.85 1 54.16 1 66.64 1 41.90 1 59.17 1 34.76
1 Arunachal 1 64.07 ( 44.24 1 76.31 1 54.99 1 58.77 1 35.83 1
Pradesh
Assam 1 71.93 1 56.03 1 75.74 1 57.14 1 72.34 1 52.44
1 Manipur 77.87 59.70 81.78 62.97 73.16 58.42-
Meghalaya 66.14 60.41 65.86 45.21 63.49 59.20
Mizoram 90.69 86.13 88.44 92.16 91.71 86.95
Nagaland 1 71.77 61.92 1 - 1 70.26 61.35
Tripura ( 81.47 65.41 1 81.85 67.24 1 67.97 44.60
Table 2: State-wise literacy rates for Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes in 2001

From the table it can be seen that as far as the literacy rates are concerned, these are
better in most of the states of the North-East as compared to the all India average.
However, when one compares the SCIST literacy rates with general literacy rates of
the individual states, one notices that the scheduled castes literacy rates are higher in
all the states except Meghalaya. The scheduled tribes literacy rates are lower
compared to general population in all the state except Assam and Mizoram. More
attention is therefore needed to ensure enrolment and retention of tribes in most of the
states.

In respect of enrolment ratios at the primary and upper primary level, one finds that
there is not much differences between the SC/ST and others, in fact at the primary
level their participation was found to be better in 2000-2001. At the upper primary
level, however, the participation of scheduled tribe girls is found to be lower than the
general population. Statewise Gross Enrolment Ratios (GER) are given in Table 3.
I
Moving Towards Equality 1 General population Scheduled Castes -
1 Boys 1 Girls 1 Total Boys / Girls Total 1 Boys 1 Girls ( Total
PRIMARY
INDIA 1 104.91 ] 85.92 1 95.66 107.34 1 85.75 1 96.84 1 116.92 1 85.47 1 101.13
Ar~nachal ( 126.31 1 106.81 1 116.94 23.32 1 24.77 1 23.93 1 128.84 1 96.12 ( 1 1 1.22

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes: 2 0 0 0 - 6

At the primary level, the Gross Enrolment Ratios (GER) ranges from 95 to 135 for the
children from general category; from 23 to 145 for the scheduled caste children; and,
86 to 135 for the scheduled tribe children. At the upper primary level the respective
range for the three groups is 60 to 75, 22 to 141 and 54 to 106. One can notice a very
wide range in the case of scheduled castes. This is due to a relatively small number of
scheduled castes in Arunachal Pradesh. High GER for the scheduled groups may be
basically due to large number of over age children from these groups. The GER is
higher at the primary level compared to upper primary level for all the three groups,
indicating dropout of large number of children at the primary level itself.

The dropout rates at the primary and upper primary levels continue to be a matter of
concern. At the primary level, the dropout rate for the general population was about
40 percent and at the upper primary level the same was 42 percent. The dropout rates
for the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes at all lndia level continue to be
higher both at the primary level and upper primary level. Statewise dropout rates for
the States of North- Eastern lndia are given in Table 4.

-
Table 4: Drooout rates amonc the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
at Elementary Ixvel, 1991, and for the General Population for 2000-01

You can observe from the table above that in the states of North-East also dropout
rates among the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes are much higher as
compared to general population except for Meghalaya where it is very low at primary
level only in the case of Scheduled Castes. The dropout rates for the scheduled castes
and the scheduled tribes in Manipur is very high both at the primary and upper
primary level. Similarly, the dropout rates for the scheduled castes and the scheduled
tribes in Tripura, both at primary and upper level, are much higher compared to all
 India dropout rates. In fact at the primary level the difference is of about 10 Education of SCs and STs
percentage points and at the upper primary level it is about 15 percentage points

Check Your Progress 2

(i) What is the drop out situation of general population at primary and upper
primary levels?

8.5 POLICY FRAMEWORK

P

8.5.1 Constitutional Safeguards

When India became Independent it committed itself to a just and equal social order.
The Constitution of the country formulated in 1950 stands committed to the principles
of democracy, secularism and equality. It aims to secure to all its citizens: justice-
social, economic and political; liberty of thought, expression and belief, faith and
worship; equality of status and opportunity; and, to promote among all fraternity
assuring dignity of individual and unity and integrity of the country.

The Constitution recognised the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes as the two
most disadvantaged sections of Indian society. There are several provisions in the
Constitution which not only ensure equality to all but also makes special provisions
for the weaker sections of the society, in particular, the scheduled castes, scheduled
tribes and the other backward groups.

The relevant provisions of the Constitution are given below:

Equality to all irrespective of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of
them(Artic1e 14)
Article 15 prohibits discrimination against any citizen on grounds of religion,
race, caste and sex.
Equality of opportunity in public appointments for all is a fundamental right
(Article1 6).
State to make special provisions for the advancement of any socially and
educationally backward group (Article 15 (4)).
Article 16(4) empowers the state to make provisions for reservation in
appointments or post in favour of any backward class citizens.
Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form forbidden (Article 17).
Cultural and educational rights are granted to all alike(Artic1e 29)
The Constitution enjoins the Slate "to promote with special care the educational
and economic interests of the weaker sections of people, and, in particular of
scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice
and all forms of exploitation" (Article 46)
Reservation of seats for the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes in the
democratic institutions (Art. 330) and in services (Art. 335).

Commissions and Committees

While the Constitution provided the basic framework, policies and programmes in
education have been formulated on the basis of recommendations of various
Moving Towards Equality commissions and committees set up for the purpose. The three major commissions set
up by the central government after independence, namely - University Education
Commission, 1949, Secondary Education Commission 1952 and the Education
Commission 1966 endorsed the constitutional commitment of equality of opportunity
in education to all groups of the society.

8.5.2 National Policies

Based on the recommendations of the Education Commission 1966, the first

National Policy Resolution (NPR, 1968) was passed by the Government in 1968. The
National Policy Resolution suggested: "More strenuous efforts be made to equalize
educational opportunities. Regional imbalances in the provision of educational
facilities need to be corrected and good educational facilities be provided in rural and
backward areas ..... More intensive efforts are needed to develop education among
backward classes and specially among the tribal people.. ."

Education was brought on the Concurrent List in 1976 (with this, both Central
Government state governments are responsible for the development of education). A
major National Policy on Education was formulated in 1986 (NPE, 1986) after a good
deal of debate at various levels and in concurrence with all the state governments.
The NPE, 1986 stands for a National System of Education.

The 1986 Policy lays emphasis on removal of disparities and to equalize educational
opportunity by attending to the specific needs of those who have been denied equality
so far. "The central focus in the educational development of the SCIST is their
equalisation with non-SCIST population at all stages and levels of education .... To
this end, cent percent enrolment of SCIST children in the age group 6-1 1 (classes I-
V), ensuring their retention in schools leading to satisfactory completion of the
primary stage of education or its equivalent through non-formal system, has to be
achieved by 1990.. ...At least 75 per cent of children in the age group 11-14 (classes
VI-VIII) will have to be enrolled and retained in the schools leading to satisfactory
completion of class VIII to achieve the policy goals envisaged in the N P E .

The Policy was revised in 1992 and a Revised Programme of Action (POA, 1992) was
prepared. The Revised Programme of Action, 1992, says that "up to a given level all
students irrespective of caste, creed, location or sex, have access to education of a
comparable quality". For promoting equality, it says, 'it will be necessary to provide
for equal opportunity to all not only in access but also in conditions of success".

The POA, 1992 suggested several strategies to bring SCI ST at par with others:

Priority in opening of primary and upper primary schools in tribal areas and
SC habitations and hamlets. Pre-primary sections will be an integral part of
such schools.
In tribal areas educational plans will be implemented in an integrated manner.
Access and enrolment will be assured primarily in formal schools. It will be
the duty of teachers to organise drives at the beginning of the academic
session to enroll all children, especially girls from the SC and the ST.
Adequate incentives will be provided for the children of SC and ST and other
backward sections in the form of scholarships, textbooks, stationery, uniforms
and midday meals.
All schools and NFE centres in the SC and ST habitations will be equipped
with necessary essential infrastructure. Operation Blackboard will cover all
such habitations within two years.
The indigent families among the SCs and the STs will be given incentives to
send children, particularly girls to schools.
 Children from the tribal communities will be taught through the use of mother Education of SCs and STs
tongue in the earlier stages of primary schools. For this, standard teaching
material will be re-written to make it intelligible.
Minimum Levels of Learning, as set up, will be ensured.
Incentives will be streamlined for effective implementation. Special
scholarships will be provided to SC/ST girls and special coaching will be
organised for them.
Coaching, training and remedial teaching will be organised for students of
SC/ST and other backward sections in order to enhance their scholastic
achievement.
Reservation in recruitment of teachers from SC/ST communities will be
ensured in all educational institutions.
Reservation for SC/ST will be ensured in Navodaya Vidyalayas in proportion
to their population or percentage of their population in the districts.
In order to encourage SC/ST students to become teachers, special courses
integrating secondary, senior secondary and professional training will be
devised.
A chain of pace setting institutions will be set up from primary to secondary
level in the areas of tribal concentration.
Education in tribal areas should be linked with outdoor activities. Many tribal
children excel in sports, games and outdoor activities. Such talent will be
identified and nurtured.
Special attention must be paid to nutritional needs of the students. As far as
possible hostels should be managed by teachers.
There is need to incorporate in the school curriculum philosophy of Dr.
Ambedkar which emphasised effort to alleviate the educational standard of
SC/ST persons, and inculcation of an understanding among teachers and
students about richness of the culture of SC/ST and their contribution to
economy.
A single nodal agency for monitoring the programmes may be developed at
the central and state levels.
Evaluation of the important schemes may be undertaken by external agencies.

Check Your Progress 3

(i) What was important factor in formulation of NPE, 1986?

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8.6 FOCUS OF FIVE YEAR PLANS

Considerable allocations have been made in the various Five Year Plans for the
welfare and development of these two groups. A major share of these allocations has
gone to education, which has been seen as sheet anchor of any programme for the
development of these groups. Provision of educational opportunities forms a very
important part of the programme for welfare, development and empowerment of these
groups.

The First Five Year -Plan (195 1-560) envisaged that the programmes, under various
sectors of development would benefit all sections of the population including SCs/STs
and Minorities. But, unfortunately, it never happened so. Therefore special
programmes under Backward Classes Sector were formulated keeping to the
Moving Towards Equality requirements of various groups in the Second Five Year Plan (1956-61). 'lhe Plan
promised to ensure that the benefits of economic development accrue more and more
to relatively less privileged classes of society in order to reduce inequalities. The
Third Five Year Plan (1961-66) continued with the same principle of reduction in
inequalities through various policies and programmes to provide equality of
opportunity to SCsISTs. The Fourth Plan (1969-74) envisaged the basic goal as rapid
increase in standard of living of the people through measures. which also promote
equality and social justice.

The Fifth Plan (1974-78) marked a shift in approach as reflected in the launching of
the Tribal Sub- Plan (TSP) for the direct benefit of the development of the tribals.
The Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-85) launched the Scheduled Castes Component Plan
(SCCP) facilitating easy convergence and pooling of resources from all
developmental sectors. In the Seventh Plan (1985-90) priority was given to the
educational development of the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes. In the
Eighth Five Year Plan (1992-97) efforts were intensified to bridge the gap between
the levels of development of SCsISTs and other sections of the society.

The Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002) aimed to empower STs by creating enabling
environment conducive for them to exercise their rights freely, enjoy thcir privileges,
ind lead a life of self-confidence and dignity, on par with rest of the society. The
approach adopted towards empowering these groups was to accomplish their all round
development through (i) Social Empowerment, (ii) Economic Empowerment; and,
(iii) Social Justice with an inter-sectoral focus and inputs from both governmental and
non-governmental inputs. The Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-07) continues with the
Ninth plan approach.

8.7 SPECIAL SCHEMES FOR EDUCATION OF SCIST

Several special schemes were initiated to promote education of the SCs and STs.
Some of the important schemes in education are listed below:

Relaxed norms for opening of schools in tribal habitations; a primary

school within one km. of walking distance from habitations of 200
population instead of 300 population;
Abolition of tuition fee in government schools in all states up to
elementary level. Some of the states have abolished fee up to Senior
Secondary level;
Provision of free textbooks, stationery and school bags etc. to SCIST
students;
Free uniforms to SCIST girls;
Mid day meals;
Pre-Matric Scholarship for the children of those engaged in unclean
o2cupations.
Ashram Schools for tribes living in remote areas;
Scheme of Hostels for SCIST boys and girls launched in 1961-62 for
1 students studying at post-primary and secondary level.
Special Educational Development Programmes for SC girls belonging to
Low Literacy Districts;
Priority to these groups in programmes of Non-Formal Education (NFE),
Adult Literacy, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), and projects like DPEP and
Lok Jumbish;
Reservation of seats in higher education including technical and
management institutes;
Post-matric scholarship scheme for all the SCIST students below
specified income level.
 Relaxation in the minimum qualifying cut-off percentages for admission Education of SCs and STs
to universities colleges and technical institutions
Remedial and special coaching for SCIST students to improve their
academic skills and linguistic proficiency and raise their level of
comprehension;
Coaching and Allied Scheme for SCIST students through Pre-
Examination Training centres (PETC);
Reservation for the SCIST students in various scholarshipslfellowships at
secondary and higher educational levels;
Reservation for SC/St students in general hostel.

8.7.1 Impact of Policies and Special Programmes

As a result of above policies and programmes in education, literacy rates have

improved considerably. In enrolment also, especially at the primary level, their
participation equals toothers. Similarly, in respect to retention rates there has been
considerable improvement and gap between them and the other groups is now
marginal. The gap between the scheduled groups and the others however, widens as
one goes higher up the level. Many children, after completing class V dropout either
because of non-availability of upper primary schools in the near vicinity or because of
poverty of parents. Participation of these groups in higher education is minimal.

The quality gap between the scheduled groups and others is another area of concern.
As most of these groups live in rural and inaccessible areas, the quality of
infrastructure available to them is poorer. A major problem is non- availability of
quality teachers to serve in these areas.'The performance of these groups also at times
does not compare favourably with others. This is due to lack of academic support at
home or frequent absenteeism of these children either because of ill health or some
work at home.

8.8 PROBLEMS FACED BY SCIST CHILDREN IN

SCHOOLS

While both the SC and ST are clubbed together because of their extreme deprivation,
the source of their deprivation is different. Deprivation of the scheduled castes is due
to low place assigned to them in the Hindu caste society, where they are placed not
only at the bottom of caste hierarchy, but are also denied basic human rights. They are
to be found in menial and low paid jobs and are treated with disdain. In fact till the
country became independent and adopted its own constitution in 1950, they were
considered untouchables. They have been denied right to education for centuries,
hence they have continued to suffer from poverty, ignorance and blind belief in their
faith. The caste society has exploited them for centuries and now they have lost faith
in themselves.

The scheduled tribes, on the other hand, suffer because of their residence. They have
been living in remote and inaccessible areas, in mountains and forest, and have
remained untouched by the developmental processes. Because of the long period of
isolation they have developed their own culture and beliefs, they have their own
language, which they want to preserve. Irony of the situation is that while the
scheduled castes want to integrate with us we do not want to integrate them, the
scheduled tribes want to keep their separate identity but we want to integrate them.

Some of the common handicaps from which SCIST children suffer because of the
long period of deprivation are:

Poverty and ignorance

Social and cultural suffering
 - .

Moving Towards Equality Religious exploitation and superstition

Identity, isolation and complexity
Poor pathetic living conditions
No human dignity
No labour dignity
Subjudiced low status
'We' and 'they' feeling
Dependency syndrome

The other handicaps that children from these two groups suffer in the school situation
are:

Poor Access to Quality Institutions: Since most of the children belonging to these
categories stay in rural areas, they go to rural schools. The rural schools, as yob very
well know, have poor infrastructure facilities compared to urban schools and the
atmosphere for learning is less conducive in rural schools as compared to urban
schools.

Within School Handicaps

8.8.1 reachers' Level

Teachers across the country in general belong to upper castes. Despite formal
\
education and training they continue to carry forward their values and behaviour
patterns to schools and the SCIST fall victim to their biases, prejudices and negative
attitudes. The children belonging to these groups find it difficult to identify
themselves with the fellow learners from the general group and with teachers and
' visa-versa. This results, in many cases, in mental and communication gaps between
and among them that affects the teaching-learning process adversely.

Check Your Progress 4

(i) Which group wants to be integrated with Hindu society and which group
want to maintain their separate identify?
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Some of the instances of discrimination actually faced by the Scheduled Caste

children are reproduced below:

(i) Ihring primh.v education, I was very good in my studies. The Brahmin
hzadmaster purposely used to ignore and discourage me by referring to my
caste openly in school. In school they openly used to practice untouchability.
We the students were not allowed to drink water from same place where
others used to drink.

(ii) I always used to hide my caste during education because people change their
attitudes. Even now in our day-to-day life we do not open our caste identity
and feel very much burdened by it.

(iii) My parents were bonded labourer when I was a child. My parents enrolled me
in school at the age of nine. The high caste teachers openly used to
discriminate and humiliate me. When I used to go to them for some difficulty
 they used to tell me, "You, scheduled castes are not capable of studying and Education of SCs and STs
you should only do your occupation".

(iv) My village had no school. It was two miles away in other village. We
scheduled castes were not allowed to sit in classroom. I discontinued after
four years as the school was far away. I discontinued because of utter
discrimination in school.

(v) While studying, I had no household responsibilities and did not face any
financial problem. I was enrolled in a good government school. The school
was in the city. I never faced any social discrimination in school. But I used to
feel inferior when I used to see other boys wearing good clothes. In college
my caste was revealed while filling up a scholarship form. Once a teacher
and student made the comment that I am getting scholarship because I am
son-in-law of Government. One day I was sitting in the tea shop. A thakur
boy came and said, "Oh son of chamar vacate the place immediately". I felt
insulted and protested. I was very disturbed and failed in the examination.

(vi) Teachers only teach the upper castes children. They use our children to do
odd jobs in school. They do not teach anything.

(vii) Our boy goes to school but does not learn anything. The teacher is upper
caste; if he was from our community, he would teach. Unko milna hi sambhav
nahin (even meeting him is impossible).

a) Students Level: The pupils in school come from diverse background but in most
cases the majority belongs to upper castes. The pattern of interaction and the language
they use in and out of school, dress style, peer formation is different from SCIST. The
SCIST find it difficult to adjust and identify with the majority and form a type of
inferiority complex and feel isolated. Many times rift between the two takes place.
There are evidences of bad performance, absenteeism or dropout from schools due to
these problems faced by SCIST students.

(b) At the Level of School Curriculum: The present curriculum has failed to mould
the young brain to the holistic, rational and multi-dimensional view of our socio-
political and economic environment. The textbooks sometimes contain matter that is
prejudiced toward the SCIST. Case of Social Studies Textbook of one State Board has
been criticized that "Lack of progress of SCIST in education is due to their ignorance,
illiteracy and blind faith". (You may like to scan the textbooks from viewpoint of
identifying material that may not be the right explanations for the phenomenon and
hurt the feelings of the SCIST).

(c) At the Level of Classroom Interaction: Language of communication also creates

difficulty for the tribes whose dialect is different than the medium of instruction,
which is regional language at the elementary level. Story of Sharodi, a tribal girl from
Assam highlights the problem:

(d) "Sharodi is a tribal girl living in hilly area of Assam. She speaks her. own dialect.
She goes to nearby school. In the school, medium of instruction is Assamese which is
different from Sharodi's Dialect. Most of the time she is not able to communicate with
her teacher who understands Assamese only. She does not fully understand the
contents of the book. Her performance is not good. She gradually lost interest in
studies and drops out of school."
Moving Towards Equality Impact of Social Discrimination

The impact of discrimination is manifold which is difficult to define and measure. It is

felt and experienced and, at times, difficult to exhibit. The discrimination certainly
leads to:

Deprivation
Mental block
Humiliation
lnferiority complex
Communication gap
Escapism
'We' and 'they' feeling
Suspicion
Crisis and conflict.

All the above results in poor performance of these children in the school and further
reinforce their deprivation. To enable these children to maximally benefit from the
teaching-learning process in the school, as teachers have a very crucial role to play.

8.9 ROLE OF TEACHERS

To fulfill the national commitment to universalise elementary education, the teacher

has a role in enrolling and retaining all the children in school in her area, as also
ensuring good perfom'ance from all children. In this, your role will be:

To ensure that all the children from feeder schools, who have completed Primary
level get enrolled in the upper primary level. You may have to visit parents of
children from the disadvantaged sections of the society and, convince them of the
value of education for their future development.
To ensure that the children from deprived groups attend school regularly. You
need to make special efforts to find out why the child is absent and then try to
emphasise regularity in attendance.
Most importantly, you must see that the children from these groups do not dropout
because of the socio-psychological deprivation. You must recognise their
deprivation, and make conscious efforts to see that they are not discriminated by
her or the fellow students either overtly or covertly.
There will always be some children who will not be able to cope with the
classroom teaching. Remedial teaching for such children needs to be arranged
before the child looses interest in studies.
You must also ensure that the incentives like books, stationery and uniforms are
made available in the beginning of the session so that he children do not suffer in
academic performance.
You must also make deliberate efforts to mix children of different groups. They
should be encouraged to speak in class and participate in co-curricular activities
where they can excel and gain their confidence and self-respect.

Manifestation of Discrimination in School

The following are the possible manifestations of discrimination in school situation:

Form their own groups

Non-participation or minimum participation in co-curricular and academic
activities
Eating and drinking separately
Sitting separately in class in a group
 Often teachers ignoring them, using at times abusive language. Education of SCs and STs

It is important for teacher to understand the problems of SCIST. The children of these
groups have to be tackled with understanding. You, as teacher need to deal with them
sympathetically without hurting their feelings or self respect. To enable them to
benefit maximally from schooling, it is necessary that they should be encouraged to
participate in the various activities of school. For boosting their self confidence, they
need encouragement and patting for any small success.

Check Your Progress 5

(i) What are the major steps to be taken up in the school by a teacher to develop
SCIST students?
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8.10 LET US SUM UP

This Unit has dealt with the growth and development of education of SCIST over the
years, and reviewed existing constitutional provisions and policies for their-education.
Further, focus in the Unit is on the special schemes and their impact on the education
SCIST. Another important aspect is the problems faced by SCIST students in schools
at various levels and the role of teacher in such situation, will also deal at length in the
Unit.

8.11 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS: POSSIBLE ANSWERS

Check your progress 1

i) The literacy rates of central India tribes are much lower, as tribes in both eastern
region literacy rates are much higher when compared to national average.

ii) The qualitative differences between scheduled and non-scheduled groups are - in
the availability of infrastructural facilities in general; rural urban differences in
schooling infrastructure - even in urban areas scheduled groups in poor
institutions.

Check your progress 2

i) The drop out situation at national level is alarming with about 40% at primary
level and about 43% at upper primary level; which is significant.

Check your progress 3

i) NPE, 1986 was formulated after thorough discussions at various levels including
general public and in concurrence with all state governments.

Check your progress 4

i) SCs' want to be integrated with Hindu society, where as STs want to like in their
habitation (fourt) and maintain separate identity.
Moving Towards Equality Check your Progress 5

i) Teacher should understand the problems of SCIST, deal with them

sympathetically without hurting their feelings; encourage them to participate in all
the activities of the school.

8.12 SUGGESTED READING

Government of India (2000), Education of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes,

1989-1990 and 1990-1991, MHRD, New Delhi: Planning, Monitoring and Statistics
Division.
I

Government of India (1 992), Programme ofAction, MHRD, New Delhi.