Kannur tribesmen skeptical of education

 KANNUR: The proposed move of the Education Department to amalgamate Multi-grade Learning Centres(MGLC) and convert them into LP schools in and around Kannur district is yet to find favour with the tribal community. The tribal community members fear that these learning centres will not not be able to survive in the long run.However, Deputy Director of Education, Kannur, Valsa Kumari said that this was a misconception. According to her, the Department plans to establish primary schools in the region by combining four MGLCs.“At present, there are only learning centres where children of various age groups are taught in a single class room. The Department is planning to open primary schools exclusively for tribals to provide them with formal schooling,” said Valsa Kumari.These learning centres, which were under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan(SSA) till 2010, are under the Education Department now. As per the new proposal, four learning centres will be joined together to form a primary school.Rajendra Prasad, an activist working among the tribals in Kannur and Wayanad, said that the tribals were not aware that the learning centres were being transformed into primary schools.According to him, the tribals are concerned, as they are not aware that these primary schools would be under the Education department. “They think that these would be under the SSA. And as the teachers provided under the SSA seldom attended the learning centres, the tribals are worried,” he said.He added that they also had complaints that the students were not provided with text books and other study materials, “There were promises that primary schools will be established for tribal children after the Right to Education Act was passed in 2009. But 80 schools out of the 446 tribal schools in various districts are already closed”, he claimed. According to him,  around 30 schools in tribal regions in and around Kannur, including 6 schools in Aralam, were on the verge of closure.