Kerala Govt ropes in tribals as instructors for literacy drive

At a time when social development of the tribal population still a cause of worry, the Kerala government is gearing up to impact a change in their lives through a comprehensive literacy programme.

Instead of appointing outsiders as teachers, tribals, with minimum qualifications, would be roped in as 'instructors' after given them expert training.

The trained persons would play the role of instructors under the Kerala Literacy Mission in their respective settlements and impart training to their fellow people there, official sources said.

As many as 370 tribal instructors, including those handpicked from 100 most educationally-backward hamlets across the state, would took part in the 'social literacy training' programme to be held here this week end.

The Mission's 'preraks' (instructors), deployed in Attappady in Palakkad district and settlements inWayanad would also be among participants for the training, they said.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would inaugurate the two-day drive here at a function on March 24.

It is for first time in the history of the state education sector that tribals themselves have been roped in as instructors to bring their fellow beings under the government's literacy programme, a top Mission official said.

"Our comprehensive literacy programme is aimed at bringing the tribal population to the forefront of society," Literacy Mission director P S Sreekala told PTI.

"It is for the first time that educated tribes are identified and invited to take part in such an initiative in the state. It is a reformative step," she said.

During the two-day training programme, the selected instructors would take part in group discussions on 17 topics, including law, higher education, health, gender equality, secularism, cinema, employment, food, democracy and so on.

It would not be just the usual literacy training programme, the official detailed.

"They will get a big exposure in all these topics and a chance to attend classes of experts. It will change not only the participant's life, but make a big impact in those of their fellow beings," Sreekala added.

The Literacy Mission had already conducted a survey in tribal settlements in Kerala to identify illiterates and bring them under the initiative.

Of the total of 100 hamlets, where the programme is being implemented, 25 each were selected in Palakkad and Wayanad districts, 14 in Idukki and five in Thiruvananthapuram and the rest in other districts.

According to the 2001 census, the Scheduled Tribe population in Kerala is 3,64,189, which constitutes 1.14 per cent of the total population.

Wayanad has the highest number of tribals (1,36,062), it said.