Indian Tribal Educational System for the Santal Children of Mayurbhanj District of Odisha: A Psychosocial Analysis

Abstract

The study on educational system of the Santals of Mayurbhanj is an interesting aspect of the tribal education of Odisha in Eastern India. Santals are the the largest number of people among the total tribal population of Odisha. Education of the tribal communities /societies has helped in preservation of social structure and goal achievement. The Santals are largely residing in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. The development of education of the Santals of Mayurbhanj district is the main part of the tribal educational system of the state of Odisha. Odisha has possessed a distinct place in tribal history of India and it is the home of a number of different types of tribes. Different developmental programmes / schemes for education have been implemented through the Governments and Non Government agencies for the educational improvement of the tribal children of Odisha in general and Santal children in particular. On the basis of field study made by the earlier scholars including the present authors, the people of Santal tribe/society are mostly residing in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. In fact, most of the tribes of Odisha in Eastern India have no written languages, but in case of Santala tribe, it has a written language with  a specific ‘Ol Chiki’ script for the use of its own people. The Santal children of Mayurbhanj district are more interested in modern education in comparison to other tribal children of Odisha. At present the educated people of Santal tribe of Mayurbhanj have been able to organize their socio-cultural associations for preservation of their traditional culture. The aim of this paper is to focus on educational system for the Santal children of Mayurbhanj district of Odisha along with to highlight their receptive minds for receiving modern education for their moral as well as physical developments for entry into the main stream of the present / modern society. Methodologically, both the primary and secondary sources have been carefully utilised in the present article