Tribal Education: An Evaluation of Ashramshalas

The tribals have been at the bottom of the social ladder in India suffering from isolation, xenocentrism, and lack of educational mobility. The Maharashtra state has been running Ashramshalas, both government run and aided, for the education of tribal children in remote and forested tribal regions. Incidentally the ashramshalas are run on the typical mainstream school lines on the academic and lingua-cultural fronts. The distinct tribal cultural identity and educational needs are not identified or addressed by the urban dominated utilitarian educational system.The major tribal issues regarding education are - access and participation, enrollment, retention, language of instruction, curriculum content, teachers and pedagogy, community participation and ownership. This book recommends a fine mix between modern education and tribal indigenous values of community living and sustainable development for a revised school curriculum for Ashramshalas. This book shall be useful for academicians, research students and policy makers.

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