By IPS Correspondents
KONKIA, Orissa, Oct 9 2007 (IPS)

"I’d like to be a teacher to help educate our people," says Neeta Kantha, a 14-year-old student at the Gram Vikas (Village Development) high school here for adivasi (tribal) children. "I too want to be a teacher,’’ chimes in her classmate Vijayalakshmi.

These two are among 144 girls and 273 boys being educated at the boarding school run by Gram Vikas, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), for the children of tribals, who make up more than a quarter of eastern Orissa state’s 36.7 million population.

"People in this area feel that the government is not concerned about giving them an education," Gitanjali Prusty, principal of the school, told IPS. "People here were badly exploited by traders and money lenders from other parts of India. So we decided to educate the people," she added.

Gram Vikas, with an annual budget of over Rs 150 million (3.8 million US dollars), works in 12 districts of Orissa covering not only education but also water and sanitations services, and runs other development schemes for adivasi communities.

The education programme was started in 1978 with an adult education programme conducted in the village communities of the tribals. But, soon they discovered it was much better to educate the next generation of adivasis and started a non-formal education programme for children. Today, this is part of what is called the Integrated Tribal Development Programme (ITDP).

"In this programme we instil the value of education in the minds of the parents," explained Urmila Senapati, manager of the ITDP. "We offer education side-by-side with livelihood programmes."

Most of the adivasis are among India’s large army of rural, illiterate people and, according to Senapati, it was not easy to get the parents to send their children to school initially as the children were helping their parents working in fields. Thus, it took them some time to start education programmes in the villages.

"We did joyful learning methods like playing and singing and then the parents took interest in getting the children to continue their studies," she recalled. "When the parents took initiative it was easier to motivate children and bring them to our residential schools".

The boarding school here was established with a primary school in 1982, but it was not until 1992 that it really took off. Even then no girls were enrolled. From primary up to high school the curriculum they follow is one set by the government, so that their high school graduates can qualify for state universities.

But, Gram Vikas also gives much emphasis to instilling pride in the adivasi culture. There are some 62 distinct tribal groups in Orissa state.

"There is nothing on tribal history in the national history curriculum," noted Manguli Charan Samal, the history, English and geography teacher at the school here. "So the Gram Vikas village resource centre prepared profiles on different communities and we use these videos in classrooms to teach tribal history and culture to students."

He said that most tribal students are creative and they like singing, dancing and painting – an important part of the education methods used at the school. The teachers in Gram Vikas schools are given special training to use these "joyful" methods to teach tribal children.

"Our students go and perform their tribal dances and songs at the district and state levels and they have won many awards," added Ajaya Kumar Dash, science teacher at the Gram Vikas high school. "Our students are proud to perform their traditional culture for others."

Only 21 of the 417 students here are day scholars, coming from the surrounding villages. Most others come from tribal communities in the hills, some even 200 km away. It is only twice a year that they visit their homes.

"Those who come from remote areas are given special training," explained Samal, "to help them to go back and motivate their parents and villagers to raise awareness of the environment and health standards to uplift the community.’’

The success of Gram Vikas’s total sanitation programmes in adivasi villages, for which it claimed the Kyoto World Water Grand Prize at the 4th World Water Forum in Mexico in March 2006, is attributed in a large measure to children going back home and educating the parents on such thins as the need to stop open defecation.

"The children played a banner role (in this campaign)," explained Senapati. "They have in one way or another gone back and persuaded their parents on the need to use toilets and keep them clean. If not, the children clean the toilets and make the parents feel bad.’’

"After studying in the school the children’s minds change slowly and they are motivated. It took us 14 years to achieve good results," said Prusty.

"So far, the state government has hired 78 of our high school graduates as teachers in village schools. So they go back to help their communities," she added. "Now parents from Berampur and other cities want to send their children here, but we refuse. This is only for students from villages that Gram Vikas is working in."

"The government school system in the villages collapsed because the teachers were absent from work most of the time,’’ said Prusty, explaining how Gram Vikas worked to fill a vacuum. " Now, our graduates are going back and helping to run those very schools.’’

Prusty said parents have to pay a nominal fee for their children’s education here so that they have sense of ownership of the programme. Usually it is about Rs 100 (2.5 dollars) per year for medicines and another Rs 900 (22.8 dollars) per year as school fees for high school children.

Some students from very poor families and many of the girls get a free education. "Previously the parents were reluctant to pay. But now that they see the value of education, they demand it and give us money,’’ said Prusty.

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