Dongria Kondh girls are breaking barriers
TRIBAL PUSH Girls of this backward community became the first from their families to clear Class 10 exams; teachers hope this will lead to more families sending their daughters to school
RAYAGADA: The year 2017 has been a life changer for Hundadi Kadraka, a 27-yearold mother of three.
Her mundane, humdrum existence in the remote Railima village in the foothills of Odisha’s Niyamgiri hills was disrupted this year, after her husband, a small-time subsistence farmer, persuaded her to send her eight-year-old daughter Momita to the village primary school.
It was a crucial decision for nobody in the family, leave alone a girl, had been to school before.
The Kadrakas are Dongria Kondhs, one of Odisha’s most primitive and backward tribal communities. As per the 2011 census, the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community has a population of about 8,000, with just a 10% literacy rate. The female literacy rate is a dismal three percent.
“I was not interested. I work in the fields throughout the day. If she (Momita) were to go to school, who would look after the other two children and help me at home, I thought,” Hundadi recalled.
“But my husband was persistent. He kept on referring to the Dongria Kondh girls who have passed Class 10 exams this year. He argued ‘if they can do it, so can our daughter, and that will give her a decent, respectable life,” she said, with a tinge of pride, sitting in the courtyard outside her mud house.
Hundadi’s husband Sani Kadraka’s reference was to the 14 girls, who created history of sorts by becoming the first from their backward community to clear Class 10 exams in May this year.
Though boys from the community regularly achieve that feat, it was for the first time that over a dozen girls from the community achieved the milestone. Most of the girls are the first in their families to attend school.
Their success has left a mark on the community, encouraging many families, including Hundadi Kadraka’s to overcome their age-old beliefs and apprehensions and send their daughters to school. The enrolment of girls in primary school has gone up by as much as 15%, district school authorities said.
Purnima Huika, a diminutive 16-yearold, is among the top performers in this year’s class ten exams, scoring 77%. The community is now looking up to her.
She is currently studying science at Rayagada-based Eklavya Model Residential School, an English medium school started by the government for ST students.
“My favourite subject is maths. I want to become a lecturer and want to teach in my village, where there is no school at present,” she says.
Huika comes from Lamba, a remote hamlet tucked away in Niyamgiri hills. Her parents sent her to the Girl’s Educational Complex at Kansur, when she was seven.
Most of the 14 achievers were the alumnae of this residential school, started by the Dongria Kondh Development Authority (DKDA) in 2008.
The DKDA is a state government agency set up in 1978 to mainstream the community through development activities such as skill training and education.
The initiative is bearing fruit now and the confidence boosted by education is helping most of these girls dream big.
Pinki Kandagaria, a resident of Muniguda village is another product of the Kansur school. She scored 60% in Class 10 and is now studying information technology at the Autonomous Government College, Rayagada.
“I want to become a software engineer,” she says.
There are two DKDA-RUN residential schools in Rayagada district — one in Kansur village and another at Chatikhona — where 400 girls are studying from Classes 1 to 10.
In a community where girls are merely seen as helping hands at home and on the field and are married off at a young age, the achievement of these girls is no mean feat, says Guha Poonam Tapaskumar, Rayagada’s collector.
“… a silent revolution is underway in the lives of this tribal community. It is encouraging, especially as the district has a history of high infant and maternal mortality rate propelled largely by illiteracy, early marriage, poor hygiene and superstitious beliefs,” he adds.
CHALLENGES PREVAIL
However, notwithstanding the inspirational stories of the community’s newfound poster girls, the path to education is still strewn with challenges.
It’s not easy to convince parents to send their children to school.
“Many of them have never stepped out of their village. For them, sending their kids to a residential school is unthinkable. Language poses another big challenge. The children, when they come here know only the local dialect called Kui. We have to make them learn Odia,” said Anjali Nachika, who is in charge of the Kansur educational complex.
She says the bigger challenge is to curb the high drop-out rate. “Children go to visit their parents and don’t return. The drop-out, in case of girls, is also high in senior classes. Last year, for instance, of the 40 girls who took admission in Class 10, only nine stayed on till the end. In many cases parents force their daugh- ters to quit once they reach puberty,” Nachika said.
Of the 14 girls who passed Class 10 this year, four have dropped out of higher studies. One of them is Pinki Kandagaria’s sister Taruni. She had scored 47% but had to quit as her parents wanted her to help them at home.
“They wanted me to quit too. But I put my foot down. Eventually, they agreed reluctantly,” Pinki says.
SMALL BEGINNING
Dr Minati Panda, professor of social psychology of education in Jawaharlal Nehru University, points out the need to do more.
“Things are looking up for the Dongria Kondh girls but the numbers are still minuscule,” she says.
Panda, who headed the task force for Tribal Education for the 11th Five Year Plan in the Union human resource development (HRD) ministry, says that improved access to schools is one of the main factors contributing towards spiking the enrolment of girl students.
“Earlier, parents were hesitant to send girls because of the distance. Safety was an issue. But with more schools coming up and more children from the community going to school, the attitude is changing. The aspirations are also rising. They are beginning to see education as a cultural capital,” she says.
Subarna Jakesika from Kurli village in Bissam Cuttack block is an example. Though she scored 43% marks, her parents wanted her to pursue higher studies. Helped by her teachers, she managed to get admission in government ITI college, Rayagada.
Six months later, Jakesika who is studying electronics and mechanics surprised her teachers with her performance.
“She has picked up really well. She confidently interacts with her teachers and is prompt in answering questions. Nobody would have believed it six months ago. She was so shy and apprehensive about everything around her,” says AK Panda, principal of the ITI.
There are five more Dongria Kondh girls studying at the ITI.
Their number may not be large, but with these girls as role models, this primitive tribal community of Odisha is witnessing a refreshing change.