Education is a powerful means to uplift any section of population, tribals not being an exception.

Challenges faced in providing education to Tribal Population:

• Accessibility: Most of the tribal population lives in spatial segregation from the mainstream where educational services are difficult to reach.
• Language barrier: Almost every tribe has its distinct culture and language, while education, especially the higher education is in English. Therefore, tribal people find it hard to pursue higher education.
• Lacks financial capacity: Most of the tribal population is poor and depends on forest for livelihood; thereby do not have adequate means to pursue education.
• Delayed returns: As education does not yield any immediate economic return, the tribal parents prefer to engage their children in remunerative employment, which supplements the family income.
• Quality of teaching: In the remote tribal areas, teacher absenteeism is a regular phenomenon and this affects largely the quality of education. Also, at times teachers show lack of sensitivity and disconnect with tribal culture.
• Inadequate monitoring: Proper monitoring is hindered by poor coordination between the Tribal Welfare Department and School Education Department.
• Migration: Migrant population is mostly tribal. Children accompany parents and drop out of school.

Government has taken various measures to address the above challenges such as designation of tribal concentrated areas as Tribal Development Blocks for focused attention to their problem, implementation of Tribal Sub-Plan Strategy since 1972 with special focus on the educational development of the tribal.

Still measures need to be taken to improve educational outcome of tribal population:

• Proper awareness campaign should be organized to create awareness about the importance of education. Extensive literacy campaign in the tribal dominated districts may be undertaken on a priority basis to impart literacy to the tribals.
• The attitude of the tribal parents toward education should be improved through proper counseling and guidance.
• All study materials should also be supplied in local languages of tribes.
• It is suggested to appoint more tribal teachers and female teachers in the tribal areas. The ecological, cultural, psychological characteristics of tribal children should be considered carefully by the teachers in tribal areas.
• Since higher education among the tribes is less, special ST scholarships should be provided to the tribal students perusing higher education, particularly in medical, engineering, and other vocational streams.
• More residential schools like proposed Eklavya Model schools should be established in each states and districts and extended up to PG level in tribal areas.
• Higher level officials should check the functioning of schools frequently relating to the teaching methods, working hours, and attendance registers.

In this context, implementation of Xaxa committee?s recommendations will also make a crucial impact on the education ecosystem of tribal children.