Lok Sabha Question No. 362 (STARRED), answered on 2016-12-12
Subject: Literacy amongst Tribals
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: UDAY PRATAP SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA (MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS)

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. †*362

TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.12.2016

## LITERACY AMONGST TRIBALS

† *362.  SHRI UDAY PRATAP SINGH

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the literacy rate and percentage of literacy amongst tribal communities in the country, State / UT- wise;
- (b) whether the Government has ascertained the factors affecting expansion of education in tribal dominated areas and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) whether any scheme has been formulated / proposed for improving educational standards and facilities in the tribal dominated districts and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI JUAL ORAM)

(a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

Statement  referred  to  in  reply  to  LokSabha  Starred  Question  No.  *362  for  answer  on 12.12.2016  asked  by  Shri  UDAY  PRATAP  SINGH,  MP,  regarding  'Literacy  amongst Tribals'.

(a): LiteracyRate of Scheduled Tribes in the country, State / UT- wise are given at Annexure 1.

(b): Tribals in most parts of the country live in hilly and forest areas with poor roads and other means  of  communication.  They  live  mostly  in  scattered  homesteads  rather  than  villages  or mohallas ,  which  makes  it  difficult  to  provide  access  to  schools  within  short  distance  for  all students.  Teachers  from  nontribal  areas  are  often  reluctant  to  work  in  schools  in  tribal  areas because of distance from towns, lack of housing and other amenities. Teachers from other areas are  also  not  familiar  with  local  tribal  languages  and  dialects  and  are  not  able  to  communicate effectively  with  tribal  students,  particularly  in  lower  primary  sections.  Tribal  students  face difficulties in following prescribed text books which are not in their mother tongue, particularly when the content is not appropriately designed for them. Enrolment rate of tribal children is lower, and drop out rate is higher than others.

(c):  Details  of  initiatives  and  schemes  of  Government  of  India  for  improving  educational standards and facilities for Scheduled Tribes are given at Annexure 2.

****

## Annexure1 referred to part (a) of LokSabhaStarred Question No. *362 for 12.12.2016

## All India and State / UT-wise Scheduled Tribe (ST)Literacy Rate

| Sl No   | State / UT               |   ST Literacy Rate |
|---------|--------------------------|--------------------|
|         | INDIA                    |               59   |
| 1       | Jammu &Kashmir           |               50.6 |
| 2       | Himachal Pradesh         |               73.6 |
| 3       | Uttarakhand              |               73.9 |
| 4       | Rajasthan                |               52.8 |
| 5       | Uttar Pradesh            |               55.7 |
| 6       | Bihar                    |               51.1 |
| 7       | Sikkim                   |               79.7 |
| 8       | Arunachal Pradesh        |               64.6 |
| 9       | Nagaland                 |               80   |
| 10      | Manipur                  |               72.6 |
| 11      | Mizoram                  |               91.5 |
| 12      | Tripura                  |               79.1 |
| 13      | Meghalaya                |               74.5 |
| 14      | Assam                    |               72.1 |
| 15      | West Bengal              |               57.9 |
| 16      | Jharkhand                |               57.1 |
| 17      | Odisha                   |               52.2 |
| 18      | Chhattisgarh             |               59.1 |
| 19      | Madhya Pradesh           |               50.6 |
| 20      | Gujarat                  |               62.5 |
| 21      | Daman &Diu               |               78.8 |
| 22      | Dadra &Nagar Haveli      |               61.9 |
| 23      | Maharashtra              |               65.7 |
| 24      | Telengana                |               49.5 |
| 25      | Andhra Pradesh           |               48.8 |
| 26      | Karnataka                |               62.1 |
| 27      | Goa                      |               79.1 |
| 28      | Lakshadweep              |               91.7 |
| 29      | Kerala                   |               75.8 |
| 30      | Tamil Nadu               |               54.3 |
| 31      | Andaman& Nicobar Islands |               75.6 |

Note: No Notified Scheduled Tribes in Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, NCT of Delhi and

Puducherry

Source: Census 2011

## Annexure 2referred to part (c) of LokSabha Starred Question No. *362 for 12.12.2016

## I.Initiatives and Schemes of Ministry of Tribal Affairs

(i) Scheme of Girls & Boys Hostels for STs: Under the scheme, Central assistance is given to  States  /  UTs  /  Universities  for  construction  of  new  hostel  buildings  and  /  or  extension  of existing hostels. State Governments are eligible for 100% central share for construction of all Girls'  hostel  and  also  for  construction  of  Boys'  hostel  in  naxal  affected  areas.  The  funding pattern for other Boys' Hostel to State Governments is on 50:50 basis.

(ii) Scheme of Ashram Schools in Tribal Areas: The objective of the scheme is to provide residential schools for STs to increase the literacy rate among the tribal students and to bring them at par with other population of the country. Under the scheme, State Governments are eligible  for  100%  central  share  for  construction  of  all  Girls'  Ashram  Schools  and  also  for construction  of  Boys'  Ashram  Schools  in  naxal  affected  areas.  The  funding  pattern  for  the other Boys' Ashram Schools is on 50:50 basis.

- (iii) Scheme for Strengthening Education among ST Girls in Low Literacy Districts: The scheme aims to bridge the gap in literacy  levels between the  general female population and tribal women, through facilitating 100% enrolment of tribal girls in the identified Districts or Blocks,  more  particularly  in  naxal  affected  areas  and  in  areas  inhabited  by  Primitive  Tribal Groups  (PTGs),  and  reducing  drop-outs  at  the  elementary  level  by  creating  the  required ambience for education.  Improvement of the literacy rate of tribal girls is essential to enable them to participate effectively in and benefit from, socio-economic development.

(iv) Ministry releases funds under Article 275(1) of the Constitution for setting up of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs). The objective of setting up these schools is to provide quality education to tribal students from Class VI to Class XII.This may eventually improve the academic performance and pursuit for higher education for them and would lead to higher employability and sustainable income.

(v) In  addition  to  above,  to  maximize  retention  of  ST  students  within  various  stages  of school education and promoting higher learning, monetary incentives are provided by Ministry of  Tribal  Affairs  in  the  form  of  scholarships  such  as  Pre  Matric  Scholarship,  Post  Matric Scholarship,  National  Overseas  Scholarship,  Scholarship  for  Top  Class  Education  and  Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for ST students.

(vi) As per Ministry of Tribal Affairs' Guidelines for Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Plan  (SCA  to  TSP)  and  grants  under  article  275(1)  of  the  Constitution,  in  intra-State sectoral  activities  prioritization  and  allocation,  40%  to  50%  of  funds  are  to  be  allocated  for education.

## II.Initiatives and Schemes of Ministry of Human Resource Development

(1)      Under  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  SarvaShikshaAbhiyan  (SSA),  districts  with high  concentration  of  population  of  Scheduled  Tribes  (STs)  have  been  identified  as  Special

Focus Districts (SFDs). The criteria for identifying the SFDs is of 25% and above population of STs.

(2)  For  the  year  2016-17,  an  amount  of  Rs.  998433.32  lakh  has  been  allocated  for  ST concentrated SFDs under SSA, which is 13% of the total allocation of SSA. Besides, Kasturba Gandhi  BalikaVidyalayas  (KGBVs)  have  played  an  important  role  in  furthering  the  goal  of girls' education in educationally backward blocks of the country. A total of 508 KGBVs, which are  upper  primary  residential  schools  for  girls,  have  been  sanctioned  in  the  ST  concentrated SFDs, out of which 507 are operational. In ST concentrated SFDs, 147 residential schools and 190 hostels have been sanctioned.

(3) SSA also supports provisions for textbooks to all children in Government / local body and Government  aided  schools  andtwo  sets  of  uniform  to  all  girls,  Scheduled  Caste  (SC), Scheduled  Tribe  (ST)  children  and  Below  Poverty  Line  (BPL)  children,  wherever  State Governments have incorporated  provision  of  school  uniforms  as  a  child  entitlement  in  their State RTE Rules.

- (4) The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 under Section 29 states that wherever practicable children should be taught in their mother tongue. In the last few years several States have taken initiatives to bridge children from tribal groups speaking a different language at home to transition to school language.
- (5)  Teacher  training  under  the  SSA  has  sessions  on  sensitizing  teachers  to  actively  dispel traditional perceptions regarding gender or caste roles, take measures which would help girls, children from disadvantaged groups and weaker sections pursue education which is equitable and free of anxiety. Further, revision of syllabi, textbooks and supplementary learning material are done to incorporate gender and social inclusion dimensions.

(6) In order to improve literacy rate, Saakshar Bharat, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Adult Education and Skill Development is being implemented in rural areas of 410 districts in 26 States and one UT that had adult female literacy rate of 50 per cent and below as per Census 2001, and including left wing extremism affected districts, irrespective of their literacy rates, with  special  focus  on  women,  SCs,  STs,  minorities  and  other  disadvantaged  groups.  The principal  target  of  the  programme  is  to  impart  functional  literacy  to  70  million  adults  (60 million female) including 8 million STs (6 million female) in the age group of 15 years and beyond. Plan-wise targets are fixed to achieve higher levels of literacy in a phased manner. The present targets are to raise the overall literacy rate of the country to 80 per cent and reduce the gender gap to 10 percentage points by the end of XII Five Year Plan (i.e. 31.07.2017).

****