The Tribal Development Department’s ambitious scheme of admitting selected tribal students to renowned schools across the State from Class I and II in the coming academic year, has been deferred due to financial constraints in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tribal Development Minister K.C. Padvi on Monday clarified that the scheme has not been cancelled, only suspended for this year. “The process of identifying schools for tribal students usually starts in March-April, which could not happen this year. In addition, the pandemic has severely hurt the State’s finances, resulting in expenditure cuts,” said Mr. Padvi.
As much as 71% of the tribal department’s budget is spent on education. “With cuts announced for the ongoing fiscal, the department will not be able to run this scheme for new students this academic year,” he said. The Minister clarified that students already admitted to schools will continue to pursue their education unhindered. “If conditions improve, we may even decide to restart the scheme in the coming two to three months,” he added.
The scheme which began in 2010-11, encourages selected tribal students from Class I and II to pursue their education in renowned residential schools with the State government paying the fees. At present, 50,269 students are studying under this scheme.
Mr. Padvi said that the department is also setting up 52 new English and semi-English schools for tribal students.
“The idea is to provide quality English education with qualified teachers. We are making sure that no student misses out on education,” he said.
