Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, MP, has urged the Tribal Development Department to resume the Gothra Saradhi project to bring children from tribal hamlets to the nearest school by providing them free vehicle facilities in order to address the issue of school dropouts.
In a letter to K. Radhakrishnan, Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Classes and Scheduled Tribes, on Tuesday Mr. Gandhi said that the COVID-19 pandemic had disproportionately affected the children of Scheduled Tribes and particularly vulnerable tribal groups, especially those who had been unable to access alternatives to regular classroom teaching.
“As schools have reopened across the State, we have a collective responsibility to ensure that students get back to classrooms safely and to extend requisite support to help reverse the learning losses”, Mr. Gandhi said.
The Gothra Saradhi project, implemented jointly by the Scheduled Tribes Development Department, Education Department, civic bodies, and parent-teacher associations, had been an effective intervention that had helped increase school participation and reduce dropout rates of tribal children, he said.
Mr. Gandhi said he was informed that due to the paucity of funds with the relevant departments and civic bodies, the project was in a state of limbo. Wayanad being the district with the highest dropout rate for tribal students, it was critical to ensure the continuation of the programme in the district. Mr. Gandhi urged Mr. Radhakrishnan to ensure the effective implementation of the project and allot adequate financial resources for the purpose.
