No results from tribal schools in Melghat

Jawarkar, who was all praise for the teachers at the Pune-based institute, said they believed in real service although the teachers working both at Jain Institute and at ashramshalas are paid employees.

“On this backdrop, it is rather difficult to understand why the students showed progress in relatively short period at the Jain Institute and have not show any progress in years at ashramshala of Melghat,” Jawarkar remarked.

As the education pattern and teachers is similar everywhere in the State, a comprehensive analysis of the educational problem in Melghat becomes extremely essential, Jawarkar opined.

Talking about the lifestyle of children in Melghat, Jawarkar said they are required to go to the forest at the break of dawn. The years during which their real development is possible are wasted in the forests, he said.Having this view in mind, he suggested that a school should be opened in Amravati on the lines the Jain Institute of Pune. The atmosphere in developed urban area would probably help the tribal children develop academic interest, he said.

Commenting on the socio-political factors, Jawarkar said ignorance is the root cause of various problems in Melghat. The peoples’ representatives are unaware of the problems faced by the people in their areas, he alleged adding that the peoples’ representatives never try to understand the problems of the people unless some one lodged a complaint.

Stressing the need for providing proper guidance to MLAs and members of the Panchayat Samitis and Zilla Parishads regarding the process of development, he felt that such a guidance would help them understand the parameters of development of the area better.

Talking about the work being done TDC, Jawarkar said that cash payment was being made by the corporation to Soyabean producing tribals for the first time so as to free them from the clutches of sahukars. The corporation would implement the first Musali project of the State in Dharni tehsil, he said. Oil processing project and mushroom project would also be undertaken in tribal dominated areas, he said.

This would help in solving the question of providing work to thousands of jobless labourers, Jawarkar opined. Many pepper producers have already made a demand for purchasing pepper and high-level efforts would be made to meet the demand, he assured.

Implementation of a project concerning medicinal plants of forest was also under consideration of the Tribal Development Corporation, Jawarkar added.