The dropout rate in Odisha’s secondary and higher secondary education is among the highest in India. Tribal students account for the majority of the dropouts. Concerned by the situation and to arrest the increasing dropout rates, the state government has introduced the Madho Singh Haath Kharcha Scheme which provides for monetary incentives – Rs 5,000 a year – to encourage the youngsters to pursue higher studies. This article is by Sandip Kumar Bal
In May 2023, Karama Muduli, a girl from the primitive Bonda Tribe of Bondaghat in Odisha’s Malkangiri District, was in the news for spending her summer vacation working under the scorching sun as a daily wage labourer to meet her education costs, as her parents, who also work as daily wagers, were unable to afford to pay for it.
A year earlier too, Karama had been in the limelight, but for a different reason – she was the district topper in the Commerce branch of the Plus-II Board exam, and had got support from a charitable trust to study in the Rama Devi Women’s University in Bhubaneswar. But the high cost of staying and studying in Bhubaneswar and lack of funds for logistics forced her to take up manual labour to meet daily expenses. Following the 2023 news report, she was assisted by the ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department to continue higher education and go forward in fulfilling her dream of becoming a civil servant.
in tribal areas.
Sumita Muduli, an Arts student of the Biju Patnaik College in Malkangiri, who is also working as a labourer, was assured of a scholarship by the officials too. While Karama and Sumita were fortunate in this regard, many others from the Scheduled Tribe communities cannot pursue their education due to various socio-economic reasons, including limited resources and inaccessibility of quality education in tribal areas. Such challenges contribute to higher dropout rates, particularly at critical educational transition junctures, mostly after Classes VIII and X.
The dropout rate in Odisha’s secondary and higher secondary education is among the highest in India, and the state’s performance in accessing quality education in the last two years has dropped in the SDG India Index 2023-24 Report from the 2020-21 figures. Odisha is still in the ‘Aspirant’ category in SDG-4 or Quality Education. Tribal students account for the majority of the dropouts.
This has been a matter of concern for the government, so much so that it has come up with the Madho Singh Haath Kharcha Scheme, a first-of-its-kind plan to provide monetary incentive or haath kharcha for tribal students, to encourage them to stay focused on their education and pursue higher studies. “Under this initiative, ST students who pass Class VIII or Class X and enroll in Class IX or Class XI will receive an incentive of Rs 5000 annually,” said Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, in his budget speech.
The scheme has been named in memory of freedom fighter Madhab Singh Bariha or Madho Singh, a landlord from Ghess in Baragarh District, a close associate of Veer Surendra Sai during the uprising against the British in 1857. The total allotment for the scheme is Rs 156 crore. “The Madho Singh Haath Kharcha Scheme aims to reduce dropout rates and promote continued education among tribal students, helping them overcome socio-economic barriers and achieve academic success,” said Roopa Roshan Sahoo, commissioner-cum-secretary, ST & SC Development, Minorities & Other Backward Classes Welfare Department, Government of Odisha.
Some sections see such efforts as mere eyewash and only a stop-gap arrangement without any long-term planning. They feel such a small amount may not be enough to dissuade the students from dropping out of studies and working for daily wages or migrating to other states in search of work. However, experts are hopeful that the scheme will show good results.
Over and above this, an outlay of Rs 1,170 crore has been proposed in the current year’s budget for disbursement of scholarships to students belonging to Scheduled Tribes (ST), Scheduled Classes (SC), Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Economically Backward Classes (EBC). The ST & SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Department of the Odisha government runs 6000 hostels, including 1735 residential schools, where around 6 lakh students from around 5 lakh households, mostly tribals, are getting quality and affordable education.
(Sandip Kumar Bal is a content writer at the Poverty and Human Development Monitoring Agency, Government of Odisha. He was earlier a journalist with The Telegraph and The Times of India. He has a doctorate in Political Science – focused on social media and policymaking in India.)
from Webdoux