Excelsior Correspondent
RAJOURI, Sept 8: Maintaining that only ‘forced schooling’ can increase literacy among Gujjars and Bakerwals of State, the speakers at a programme organised by Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation (TRCF) today suggested that J&K Government should launch innovative schemes to educate the nomadic Gujjars and Bakerwal children.
Quoting the census report 2011, they expressed anguish over lowest literacy rate of 37.4% and 25.4 % among Gujjars and Bakerwals, respectively, as against the national rate of 74% and State’s literacy rate, presently 65.57 % and termed the same extremely alarming.
The programme was presided over by reputed Gujjar scholar Dr Javaid Rahi and was held in connection with International Literacy Day.
Addressing a gathering comprising educationists, students and activists of community Dr Javaid Rahi, stated that the school dropout rate is highest among nomadic Gujjar and Bakerwal children as the children of both the tribes left their studies at Primary or Middle level due to low economy and migratory way of life .
He said Gujjar-Bakerwal women are worst sufferers which constitute 76.7% of total ST women population of the State are at the bottom as 82.2% Gujjars/ Bakerwal women are illiterate as said in 2011 census data.
The speakers stated that on the prototype of pre-1947 ‘forced schools’ started by the Maharaja in Kashmir, Ladakh and other parts of the State -the Government should start same type of compulsory free education for the children of Gujjars and Bakerwals as the parents are deliberately denying education to their children and using them as human resource in their day to day work.
The speakers said that the 16 Gujjar hostels in the State and around 200 to 300 seasonal and mobile schools are insufficient to provide basic education to them. They appealed State and Central Governments to provide legal safe-guards to Gujjar children.
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Ch Akram, Nawab Din, Gulshan Ahmed, Feroz Din, Karam Ali, Dildar Hussan Khatana and AH Poswal.
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