The right to education act ensures education as a fundamental right of every child between the age of 6 to 14 years and gives specific norms in elementary schools.
After the right to education act came into existence, primary education reached every primitive village in the country.
But, after governments announcement of shutting down the schools throughout the country amid COVID-19 crisis schools, parents and students started shifting to online learning platforms which are not in reach for tribal children.
Most of the tribal children come from no educational background and poverty stops. The reach of electronic gadgets to primitive tribes and academic classes on Doordarshan doesn’t work for children of primitive tribes because the medium of teaching in government schools is state language which tribal children are not comfortable with and any language other than mother tongue reduces their interest in pursuing education in the starting stages of primary education.
Primitive village level task force should be created to provide education, health care and food security to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) and government Should appoint headmasters of Eklavya model school to a group of primitive villages and appoint other teachers to work under him/her for the education of tribal children, ensuring the COVID-19 safety measures.
The NDA government has clearly neglected the tribals over the last six years and unless it walks the talk on improving the livelihood of tribals its claim of sabka saath sabka vikas would remain hollow.
