Despite Studies, Tribal Students Deprived of Higher Education Opportunities

 Visakhapatnam: Due to the limited number of seats, many tribal students encounter challenges in their pursuit of intermediate education even after achieving top scores in their Class X exams.

They fail to secure a seat in the Gurukulam Residential Junior Colleges under Parvathipuram and Seethampet ITDAs in Manyam district. This mainly affects tribal students.

This year, over 3,000 tribal students have excelled in their 10th standard exams under the two ITDAs, with many achieving scores of over 550 marks. However, there are only eight Gurukula Residential Junior Colleges in the district, with an expected intake of 2,060 students.

The infrastructure to accommodate these students is insufficient, resulting in only 1,030 students being allocated seats this year.

In these eight colleges, 40 seats have been allotted for MPC and BPC departments, totalling 640 students.

Despite the high demand for these courses, many students are forced to opt for the CEC group due to the shortage of seats. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that 40 seats have been allotted in Peddamadi Junior College under Seethampeta ITDA and another 40 in Bhadragiri and P Konavalasa College under Parvathipuram ITDA.

This forces tribal students from Seethampeta to endure long and arduous journeys to reach these educational institutions.

Gurukula Residential Junior Colleges have released the notification for admissions to Inter this year. Counselling will be held on May 22. Admissions to these colleges are made as per the notification. Seats will be replaced accordingly.

However, given this background, more than 3,000 tribal students who passed the tenth exam this year may not get a seat in the intermediate. This underscores the need for immediate action to address this issue.

Nagabhushanam, who worked as the convener-principal of Gurukul Residential Junior Colleges in Seethampeta and now a retired hand, told Deccan Chronicle, "This problem needs to be addressed. It is not enough to increase the seats in the existing gurukuls. It is necessary to build new gurukuls.”

DVEO to Intermediate Education D. Manjulaveena told Deccan Chronicle, “Yes, there is a shortage of seats, but the respective project officers are looking into this matter. We are here to provide maximum services to tribal students.”