As a recent Right to Information (RTI) Act reply has revealed that an initiative of the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department in 2013 to train about 50 tribal students every year for competitive examinations such as IIT JEE and AIEEE was dropped in the same year, an activist demands for the revival of the scheme to improve enrolment of tribal students in top institutions in the country.
“Though the sporadic successes of tribal students and Scheduled Caste students entering technical and medical institutions is being celebrated by the media and teachers, the exclusive government platform created for extending a constant support to their higher education should be renewed to increase their participation,” said S. Karthik, a Madurai based social activist.
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Pointing out to the Government Order published on October 15, 2013, Mr. Karthik said the G.O. enabled training 50 tribal students for two years in private coaching centres at a cost of ₹2 lakh per student.
Though such a similar training was already offered to Scheduled Caste students through Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing and Development Corporation, the G.O. pointed out that for a similar training for tribal students too, private coaching centres could be roped in under Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998.
“As the training would include students studying in grade XI and XII, a total of ₹2 lakh would be allocated to each of the 50 students for the course of two years of the training,” it added.
He said that though the exercise would entail an arduous process to persuade students from rural areas and hilly terrains to enrol for the training, the G.O. reminded that it was the duty of the government to democratise the opportunities which was available to only few sections of the society.
“Even when the scattered successes could be attributed to the government measures, a consolidation of efforts was mandatory to improve the enrolment of SC and tribal students in top institutions such as IIT and NIT,” he stated.
“As the initiative was lauded for its efforts to bring about a change in the realm of higher education in the State, dropping off in the same year was a disappointment,” he said.
“Learning about the need to include all students of the society in the run to excellence, the Tamil Nadu government should resume the programme at least from the current academic year,” he demanded.
Published – June 21, 2025 04:00 pm IST