Tribal Development in India: Challenges and Prospects in Tribal Education

Tribal development is one of the most important yet underperforming initiatives of the Indian government. For any effort in this direction to succeed, an effective tribal educational programme is necessary. However, major gaps in the implementation of this programme, along with factors such as corruption and political interference, have contributed to severe malfunctioning and ineffectiveness of the Tribal Ashram schools, a residential school system. It is essential to understand these gaps from policy, design, funding, management, monitoring and evaluation perspectives for ensuring effective service delivery to tribal learners. 

Tribal Development in India: Challenges and Prospects in Tribal Education is a detailed presentation of the multi-pronged effort towards the educational development of India’s tribal population. It includes contributions from academicians and professionals belonging to diverse domains, such as social work, education and administration, and involved in tribal education. The perspectives shared through this book will prove helpful for all stakeholders involved in tribal empowerment through education.

R. R. Patil is presently a Professor in the Department of Social Work, Jamia Millia Islamia; a central university, New Delhi. He has been teaching graduate, postgraduate and doctoral students since October 2000 and has completed 19 years in the university. Apart from teaching, he has been continuously involved in research and publications. So far, he has 2 major research projects and more than 25 publications (national and international) including research articles, policy papers and books to his credit. He has authored/edited two books, namely Dalit Christians in India and Empowering Dalits: Non-Governmental Organizations in Western India. He has been regularly presenting papers and delivering lectures in national and international seminars and conferences. Recently, he has submitted a research project titled ‘Mapping of Residential Schools in Tribal Areas’, sponsored by ICSSR, New Delhi, in 2017.

Apart from academic contributions, Professor Patil has been serving universities in different administrative capacities. He has served as the head of the Department of Social Work and dean of the School of Social Sciences, Central University of Rajasthan, in the year 2012–2014. His research interest areas include development studies, marginalization, social exclusion and civil society, and all his research and publications contribute towards enriching literature and documentation of the above research areas. Apart from this, he has been organizing seminars, conferences and workshops on different themes in the above areas.