Govt proposes to set up a Tribal University

June 16: Minister of Information and Broadcasting P.R.Dasmunsi announced yesterday that the government has approved the purposed tribal university to be set up at Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh.

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The union cabinet will soon present a bill in the Parliament, he said.

The Indira Gandhi National Tribal University will promote research on tribals in the country. It will further encourage tribal art, culture, tradition, forest and natural resources. However, government officials say that tribal students will be given priority and different branches will be opened up in various states where tribes are dominant like Orissa, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharastra, and also in other parts of the country.

In November last year the central government after considering the needs and purposes had forwarded it to different ministries including Home, Tribal and Agriculture.

Tribal university will definitely serve the purpose for tribal population in the country by encouraging higher education and research services. As mentioned the study will primarily concentrate on tribal art, culture and their economic activities solely based on forest productions. Also the technological advancement relating to natural resources would be a part of the curriculum.

Though the government has planned to open branches and colleges affiliated with the university but the primary thing is to develop primary schools with all facilities in all tribal areas so that the students of those schools will able to join higher education or those colleges or university. This is something approved by the Parliament in the 1986 National Policy of Education.

One of the most important things that the university should look after is promoting tribal language i.e. the prime part of their culture and now on the verge of decline compared to the other national and regional languages. In fact there must be a place for minority languages as they have played a great role in the development of certain major languages and hence have much cultural importance and also bear linguistic human rights.

In present education system, language acts as a big barrier for the low educational achievements of the tribals and if the Tribal University does something categorically on this aspect then it would be a great work for tribes dominated states.