RESEARCH AREA:

EDUCATION OF SOCIALLY
DISADVANTAGED GROUPS
INTRODUCTION

Education, the modern word, which is derived from the

Latin word ‘Educare’, means to bring up / to develop. Education is
the process of development which consist the passage of human
being from infancy to maturity, the process whereby he adapts
himself gradually in various ways to his physical, social and spiritual
environment (T. Raymont).

Socially disadvantaged individuals are those who have been

subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias because of
their identity as a member of a group without regard to their
individual qualities.

The term ‘Scheduled Tribes’ refers to specific indigenous peoples

whose status is acknowledged to some formal degree by national
legislation.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.

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. Tribes of our country (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 population of India is culturally stratified into tribals and non-

tribals. Tribal population is believed to be the original inhabitants of
India. Tribes’ people constitute 8.2% of the total population of the
country, numbering 84,326,240 (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. The Rajinder Sachar Committee report of 2006 revealed that
Tribes of India are not constituted to the Religion of Hinduism. The
61st round survey of NSSO found that one-third of the Christians
belonged to the notified Scheduled Tribes of the Constitution.

Kerala is the southern most state of India located 8–120N and

74–770E. The state is known for its cultural heterogeneity consisting
of all major communities based on religion, language and ethnicity.
The Scheduled Tribe (ST) population of Kerala State is 364,189 as
per 2001 census constituting only 1.14 percent of the total
population of the State. The State has a total of 35 Scheduled Tribes
and are scattered mostly in or along the Western Ghats forests such
as, Adiyan, Kanikkar, Kattunaikkan, Malai Aryan, Muduvan,
Paniyan, Ulladan etc.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

“Education and Socio-Economic development of

Scheduled Tribes in Kerala (with special reference to

Kollam district)”

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

 Education 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. Hence modern education can play the role of
"Catalyst" in bringing sea changes in the sphere of social, political
and economic fields.

India has the largest concentration of tribal population in the world.

Due to isolation, unawareness and exploitation tribes in India are
facing economic and social problems. They live generally in
inhospitable terrain where productivity of soil is low and their
hamlets are found in forest areas along with the hill streams. They
accept all outsiders in their territory that create more problem than
benefits to the tribal communities. But they are closely and
emotionally related to their lands and forest. There is no
communication facility between the various isolated tribal groups as
well as between the tribal and the world at large.

So far as the levels of education are concerned, as many as 33.5 per

cent of tribal literates are either without any educational level or
have attained education below primary level. The proportion of
literates who have attained education up to primary level and middle
levels are 29.3 per cent & 22.9 per cent respectively. Persons
educated up to metric / secondary / higher secondary etc. have a
share of only 12.4 percent in total literate population. Graduates and
above are 1.2 per cent while non-technical & technical diploma
holders constitute a meagre 0.8 percent only.

For promoting the welfare of scheduled tribes, Article 275 of the

constitution provides grants in aid from consolidated fund of India
to states for implementation of developmental programs. These
programs help the poorest of the poor to bring them above poverty
line and ensuring high quality of education to the tribal students.
The tribal in India are passing through a phase of economic change
along with the rest of the country. Education is one of the most
important factors in shaping the future of tribal economies.

Education is the most effective instrument for social empowerment,

which aimed at improving the educational status of Scheduled
Tribes, especially amongst their women and the girl children.

Economic Development being crucial for empowering the

disadvantaged groups, the strategy of raising them from the levels
below the poverty line will continue to receive high priority. To this
effect, special thrust is being given to training-cum-employment-
cum-income generation programmes to make the socially
disadvantaged groups economically independent and self-reliant.

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. Poverty, poor health and sanitation, literacy and
other social problems among the tribals are exerting a dragging
effect on the Indian economy. Hence to ward off economic
backwardness and social deprivation spreading of education is
regarded as one of the most effective and forward-looking
instruments.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter attempts to give an insight into the tribal studies in

India and Kerala in particular

Tribal Studies in India

The scientific study of tribal economy in India was first undertaken

by two scholars D.D Nag and R.P Saxena. Nag(1958)1 made an
extensive field tour in the areas of Madhya Pradesh like Mandla,
Bilaspur, Durg, Balaghat and studied the Baiga economy in the
context of general economic theories lying emphasis on the sources
of economy of Baigas. Saxena followed a model of Nag and studied
the tribals of Western Hills in Madhya Pradesh and presented the
economy of five tribes. These two studies have some limitations like
exclusion of socio-cultural conditions of the tribes on their study
areas.

N.N Vyas(1967)2 presents the historical, social and economic life of

the Baniyas of Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat.
Yyas thus points out the differences in customes and practices of the
Baniyas of different States. This study has a good comparative
background, still it has a limitation like unsuitability of the
methodology.

T.B Naik (1969)3 of the reformist tradition, considers education, the

most crucial among the various development strategies of the state
and central governments. Educational Schemes are very important
from the point of various changes they bring to the life of the
community. But very few efforts have so far been made to study the
actual changes: social, economic, and political that is brought about
in the life of tribes through education. The bhils are a backward
community with a simple economic structure and a more or less
homogeneous culture. It would therefore be easy, as Naik would
argue, to educate them for change and change them by educational
development.

Vimal Shah(1969)4 studied the tribal economy of Gujarat based on

the All India Rural Development and Investment Survey of the
RBI(1961-1962) and the study undertaken by the Gujarat State. Shah
selected a sample of 1120rural households selected from 28 villages.
This study has very effectively brought out the tribal economy in
Gujarat. He points out that, there is very little diversification in
occupation. Agriculture continues to be the main stay of tribal
population, very little investment is made to modernize it, very few
inputs are made to increase the productivity of land, and many
people mostly depend upon traditional agencies for their credit
requirements. All these are obviously the characteristics of a
subsistence economy.

Iravati Karve and Hemalata Acharya(1970)5 have studied the role of

weekly markets in tribal, rural and urban settings. The primary
function of a weekly market is to provide a situation in which sale
and purchase of commodities takes place, but it is also a place where
people meet, exchange ideas and look for entertainments. Some
times these markets are also places where religious fairs are held.
The weekly markets, therefore serve as a very important channel of
communication in tribal and rural areas.

N.K Ambashta(1970)6 in a full length study has tried to highlight

some problems of tribal education with reference to the Ranchi
district. He deals with these problems against the socio-cultural
background of the main tribes inhabiting the region. The role of the
youth in the socialization process of the oraon child has been clearly
outlined. Ambashta examines the strength and weakness of the
different educational agencies working in the area, namely the
Government, social welfare organization and the Christian churches.
The author has also tried to record the image of the teachers in the
eyes of students and the students in the eyes of the teachers.

N. N Vyas and N.D Choudhary(1971)7 have studied in detail the

educational problems of dropouts and stagnation of the tribal
situation in Rajasthan. It is an attempt to measure the extent and
magnitude of dropouts and stagnation at various levels of education.
The different dimensions of the problem such as factors responsible
for dropouts and stagnation, socio-economic characteristics and the
points of view of teachers and parents have been analyzed.

B.C. Mukherjee et. al. (1973)8 have also studied the chero of Palmau
living in seven villages. The authors describe the material culture,
economic organizations, social organization and religious belief
system of the chero.
R.K. Mutatukar(1973)9 made a study of education among the tribals
of the Thane district of Maharashtra. The author feels that modern
education can succeed in tribal area when it covers the different facts
of tribal life. Therefore educational development should form a part
of the general development programme. The author has suggested
the opening of more hostels and ashram schools to deal effectively
with the problem of low attendance.

In a study of educational problems of scheduled castes and

scheduled tribes in Bihar, Sachchidananda(1975)10 examines various
aspects in respect of college and school students. The social life and
outlook of students, their attitude to the facilities provided, the
condition of hostel students and that of girl students are examined.
The study fielded important ideas for a change in educational
strategy. The author makes a strong plea to divert the bulk of the
resources available to strengthening school education among
communities having extremely poor rate of literacy. The author has
questioned the advisability of having separate hostels for tribal
students, since separation militates against the declared policy of
promotion of integration of the tribals into the main population.

B.P Mishra(1976)11 makes a study of the socio-economic

adjustments of the tribals of Tripura. The author deals with a
community of shifting cultivators pursuing the slash-and-burn
technique. He has detailed the principles of land distribution n the
jhum economy and gives a review of working of the Jhumia
Resettlement Scheme.
Nirmal Kumar Bose (1977)12 gives some insight into the tribe’s social
life. ‘Tribes differ from others in their social system. They have
retained their own marriage reguation. Almost all marry within
their restricted local group, and are sometimes guided by their own
elders or political chief in internal and external affairs. In other
words, they form socially distinct communities who have been
designated as tribes and listed in the schedule for special treatment
so that within a relatively short time they can come within the
mainstream of political and economic life of India.

B.S Dasgupta (1978)13 published a book on the birjhia, a section of

asur tribe. This book gives details about the social organization, the
habitat, economic life, material culture, beliefs and practices, the
annual cycle of rituals and festivals etc. This work does not touch
any specific aspects of their life than a general description.

Sita Tappo(1978)14 in a detailed study of education among the

oraon, examines the role of the Dhumukuria, the traditional
organization for education and socialization in that community. On
account of the spread of the educational system and other forces of
change the Dhumukuria has disappeared from the most of the
oraon villages. She has made a detailed study of the school system as
well as the students, their attendance, stagnation, dropouts and
achievements. She makes a comparison between students attending
Government schools and missionary schools.

K.S. Singh (1982)15 presents the economy of the tribe through

specific case studies from different parts of the country. The
diversities of regional situations and multiple processes of transition
are dealt with similar case studies. He focuses on change and
transformation of modes of production, including the relations of
production. He also raises the larger issues of the relationship of the
tribal economy with society.

Devendra Takur(1986)16 highlights the socio-economic conditions of

the Scheduled Tribes inhabiting different parts of India and looks
into the impact of development programmes on their socio-
economic conditions in general and on the Santhals of Bihar in
particular.

J.P. Singh et. al. (1988)17 in Tribal Women and Development,

highlights areas of conceptual and theoretical interest concerning
status and development paradigm. The book explains the role of
tribal women in diverse economic activities. Their position,
involvement, participation and restraints are analyzed and
interpreted in the context of socio-economic changes. This book also
deals with education, both formal and non-formal and its
implications in the life and conduct of tribal women.

The work of Rekha Devi Raju(1988)18 being an analysis of socio-

economic set up of rural and tribal population of a part of Karnataka
with special reference to women, their roles and status, which have a
pivotal role to play in a culture complex, could provide guidelines to
development planners and executives for taking steps for the
upliftment of tribal and rural people.

Y.V Joshi(1990)19 in his book presents a micro level analysis of the

problem of under development and low absorption of innovations in
the resource of poor tribal areas of India, taking the Thabua Distrct
of Madhya Pradesh, as an example. The study is based on secondary
data, household interviews and group discussions with villagers.
Analyzing the process of tribal development in such areas, this book
seeks to work out a strategy for future development.

In ‘Tribal Economy in India’ Danda Ajith(1991)20 highlights various

aspects of the Indian Tribal situation. Several tribal communities
have either changed or have merged with other communities. There
are some who have undergone transformation of their identity
altogether.

H.C Upadhyay(1991)21 has made a multi-disciplinary investigation

into various aspects pressing socio-economic problems of the
scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in India. He says that the
discrimination and harassment of people belonging to the SC and ST
are rampant more in rural areas than in the urban areas. In the
paper on the constitutional safeguards for SC and ST of India, the
author explains the conditions of the SC and ST. They are
economically dependent, educationally backward and socially the
worst sufferers.

J.L Dashora (1992)22 considers that the tribals are losing their
identity because of the rapid development of trade, transportation
and communication, provision of reservations, educational services
and equal political status. The author further quotes certain
examples of dilution of tribal culture. The study concludes that the
horizontal distances are shrinking by leaps and bounds. Tribal who
are drive to an inhospitable environment has come never to the
mainstream society and are growing conscious of their civic,
economic and social rights.
Devendra Takur and D.N Takur(1994)23 edited one book Tribal Life
in India in ten volumes. Each volume deals with different aspects
like tribal labour and employment, customs, traditions, law and
administration, women, education, development, industrialization
in tribal belts, agriculture etc.

Rudolfe Heredia(1995)24 reveals his view that ‘if the developmental

dilemma that confronts our tribals is to be successfully addressed,
tribal integration will require their mobilization not just to preserve
their cultural autonomy but to redress their minority status as well,
so that they can participate in their own development’. For this tribal
education will have to play a major role.

Bhujendra Nath Panda(1996)25 has made sincere attempt to study

the personality adjustment , mental health, attitude and academic
achievements of more accultured Saora tribes. Through an in-depth
analysis, this book gives practical suggestions to teachers, and policy
makers to realize the pros and cones of tribal acculturization. Thus
the findings have obvious implication for policy makers in tribal
education and development.

P.C Jain (1999)26 gives some insight into the Bhils and Minas of
Rajasthan. The objective of the study is to find out the development
attained by these two tribal groups. The development is through
various sources. In the First Year Plan, the State government is
committed on constitutional ground to bring the tribals at par with
the other tribal groups who are economically and socially advanced.

S.R Bakshi and Kiran Bala (2000)27 presents the socio-economic

status of several scheduled tribes inhabiting in various regions of our
sub-continent. Their life style, customs and traditions are quite
different from the population in our rural and urban areas. In fact
‘they live in their own world’. Their social backwardness has been
assessed at various levels and schemes have been launched for the
education of their children, to provide them health facilities and job
for their daily needs.

Tribal Studies in Kerala

Jacob John Kattakkayam(1983)28 intended to highlight the social

structure and change among the uralis, an aboriginal tribe
inhabiting in the high ranges of the Western Ghats of Kerala. In his
work, the author has made an attempt to delineate their history,
progress, present conditions of life and the impact of various welfare
measures on them.

Ananthakrishna Iyer’s (1908)29 work on the various castes and

tribes of Travancore and Cochin published in four volumes, titled
‘Cochin Tribes and Castes’ is the first of its kind and carries
descriptions on tribes like Kadars, Malayans, Nayadis, Ulladans,
Paniyans and others with emphasis on their socio-economic,
cultural and linguistic elements.

‘The Nayadies of Malabar’ and ‘The Irulars of Kerala’ are two

important works of Aiyappan (1937, 1944)30, 31. The former is a socio-
economic account and the latter is a social and anthropological study
carried out systematically.

A.A.D Luiz(1962)32 in his study ‘Tribes of Kerala’ gives an exhaustive

account of all the tribes n Kerala. He has examined the changing
pattern of various aspects of social life like occupation, mode of
living, diet, religion, marriage, rituals and superstitions. It is
basically a sociological study and much of their economic life has not
been discussed.

P.R.G Mathur(1977)33 apart from being a descriptive study on the

socio-linguistic evolution of tribals in Kerala, provides valuable
statistical information on some of the major problems confronted by
the tribals like land alienation, bonded labour, indebtedness and the
status of tribal women.

‘Socio-Economic Survey of Tribals in Kerala’ (1979)34 conducted by

the State Bureau of Economics and Statistics is he most
comprehensive survey on the scheduled tribes of Kerala. The main
points of focus are the demographic features, literary level,
traditional occupation, income and expenditure, indebtedness,
housing, schooling, health and related aspects of the tribals.

M. Kunhaman(1979)35 made a detailed study on the problems

encountered in the development of tribal economy with special
reference to Attappady. He stated that there is a total lack of
economic rationality in decision making in the case of the tribal.
There is an obvious development gap between the dwindling tribal
sector and the fast expanding settler sector. There is a great
disadvantage in the asymmetric growth of the two sectors.
Immigrants are getting richer, while there is precipitous
deterioration of cultivable land.

M.Kunhaman(1982)36 made an attempt to analyze the underlying

factors responsible for intra regional variations in the socio-
economic living standards of the tribal communities in Kerala. He
has ascertained that the rulers of Malabar, Cochin and Travancore
have protected the tribal population in varying degrees. While
examining the economic evolution of the tribes, the author puts
forward a protection hypothesis and states that the tribes in the
northern region of the State have better socio-economic standards as
a result of the better protection policy of the rulers there. It is
however, the first socio-economic work on tribals in Kerala and
provides an insight into the economic levels of the different
communities and forms a base for further studies of this aspect.

The work by John Kattakkayam(1983)37 is a detailed empirical study

of the social structure of the Uralis, a primitive tribe in Kerala. The
author analyzes in detail about the failure of various welfare
programmes, agricultural programmes, social and cultural
programmes and health programmes. One of the major causes
identified by the author is the exploitation of the Uralis by the non-
tribals. The study is mainly based on Participant Observation
Method aimed at examining the social structure on social processes
among the tribal communities to find out how they contribute to
acceleration of change in the tribal communities.

Muraleedharan and Sankar(1991)38 examined human ecology and

socio-economic interaction between the tribals and other
communities of Attappady. Based on primary data, the study has
revealed that the socio-economic conditions of the tribals have been
adversely affected as a result of land use changes. Land degradation
and land marginlization are the major problems in heir study area.
‘Facts and Figures’, published by the Kerala Forest Research
Institute and Forestry Information Bureau (1994)39 is the result of
socio-economic survey conducted on the Scheduled Tribes and
Scheduled Castes in the Forest Regions of Kerala.

Though there are studies on various tribes in Kerala,

the tribal community in Kollam and their socio-economic
development on the basis of Education has not been analyzed so far.
So the researcher hopes that the current study will fill the gap in the
literature.

Notes and References

1. D.D Nag, Baiga Economy of Madhya Pradesh, M.K Publicaions,

Calcutta, 1958.

2. N.N Vyas, Customs and Traditions of Some Indian Tribes, Vikas

Publishing House, New Delhi, 1967.

3. T.B Naik, Impact of Education on the Bhils: Cultural change in

the Tribal Life of Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi, 1969.

4. Vimal Shah, Tribal Economy in Gujarat, Well Print Publications,

Jaipur, 1969.

5. Iravati Karve and Hemalatha Acharya, The Role of Weekly

Markets in the Tribal, Rural and Urban Setting, Poona, 1970.

6. N.K Ambashta, A Critical Study of Tribal Education, Delhi,

1970.

7. N.N Vyas and N.D Choudhary, The Dropouts in a Tribal

Situation, Rajasthan, 1971.

8. B.C Mukherjee, et.al., The Chero of Palmau, Calcutta, 1973.

9. R.K. Mutatukar, Education in Tribal Culture: A Case Study,

Maharashtra, 1973.
10. Sachchidananda, Educational Problems of Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes in Bihar, Ranchi, 1975.

11. Bari Prasad Mishra, Socio-Economic Adjustments of Tribals:

Case Study of Tripura Jhumias, Delhi, 1976.

12. Nirmal Kumar Bose, Tribal Life in India, National Book Trust,
New Delhi, 1977.

13. B.S.Dasgupta, Section of the Asurs of Chotanaggpur, Calcutta,

1978.

14. Sita Tappo, Dynamics of Developments in Tribal India, Delhi,

1979.

15. K.S Singh, Economies of the Tribes and the Transformation,

Concept Publishing Company, Delhi, p.549, 1982.

16. Devenda Takur, Socio-Economic Development of Tribes in India-

A restudy of the Chauduries, Ajantha Publications, Delhi, p.259,
1986.

17. J.P Singh et. al. Tribal Women and Development, Jaipur,1988.

18. Rekha Devi Raju, Status of Women, Pune, 1988.

19. Y.V.Joshi, Developments in Over Exploited Tribal Regions,

Delhi, 1990.

20. Danda Ajith.K, Tribal Economy in India, Tribal Series of India-

T.143, Inter India Publications, Delhi, p.216, 1991.

21. H.C Upadhyay, Scheduled Casts and Scheduled Tribes in India,

Delhi, 1991.

22. J.L.Dashora, The Vanishing Tribal Culture, Tribe Quarterly

Report Journal,24(1)

23. Devendra Takur and D.N Takur, Tribal Life in India, Delhi, 1994.

24. Rudolfe Heredia, ‘Tribal Education need for Literative Pedagogy

of Social Transformations’, Economic and Political Weekly, April
1995.
25. Bhujendra Nath Panda, Tribal Education, A.P.H Publishing
Corporation, Delhi, 1996.

26. P.C Jain, Planned Development Among Tribals, Prem Rawat for
Rawat Publications, Delhi, 1999.

27. S.R Bakshi and Kiran Bala, Social and Economic Development of
Scheduled Tribes, Deep and Deep Publications Pvt.Ltd, New
Delhi, 2000.

28. Jacob John Kattakkayam, Social Structure and Change among

the Tribals: A Case Study among the uralis of Idukki district of
Kerala, 1983.

29. L. K Anananthakrishnan Iyer, The Tribes and Castes of Cochin ,

3 volumes, 1908.

30. A. Aiyappan, Social and Anthropology of the Nayadies of

Malabar, Bulletin of the Madras Government, Vol.2, No:4, 1937.

31. A. Aiyappan, Report on the Socio-Economic Conditions of the

Aboriginals of Madras, Madras Government Press, 1944.

32. A.A.D Luiz, Tribes of Kerala, Bharatiya Adama Jathi Seva Sangh,
Delhi, 1962.

33. P.R.G Mathur, Tribal Situation in Kerala, Kerala Historical

Society, Trivandrum, p.218.

34. Government of Kerala, Report of the Socio-Economic Survey of

Tribals in Kerala, State Bureau of Economics and Statistics,
Trivandrum, 1979.

35. M. Kunhaman, Some Problems in the Development of a Tribal

Economy, Journal of Kerala Studies (3&4), p: 568- 573, 1979.

36. M. Kunhaman, Tribal Economy of Kerala- An Inter-regional

Analysis, Centre for Development Studies Library, Trivandrum
(an M.phil Thesis, J.N.U), 1982.

37. John Kattakkayam, Social Structure and the Change among the
Tribals- A Study among the Uralis of Idukki District in Kerala,
D.K Publications, Delhi, 1983.
38. P.K Muraleedharan and S.Sankar, Studies on Human Ecology
and Eco-Restoration of Attappady Valley.A study sponsored by
the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India, KFRI,
p.82, 1991.

39. KFRI & KFIB, Report of the Socio-Economic Survey relating to

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Forest Regions of
Kerala, Facts and Figures, 1994.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the study are,

1. To trace an overview of tribal population in Kerala with special

reference to Kollam district.

2. To analyze the schemes for promotion of Education of Tribes

carried out by the State.

3. To study the awareness of tribal students about the

Educational welfare measures available for them.

4. To evaluate the contribution of governmental and non-

governmental agencies to the socio-economic development of
tribes in Kerala.

5. To study the changes in the sphere of socio-economic fields of

tribes through education.

6. To provide suggestion to different stake holders for

developing tribal education.