AN OVERVIEW OF SCHOOL ABSENTEEISM AMONG STUDENTS OF THE PANIYA TRIBES IN MANATHAVADY PANCHAYAT OF WAYANAD DISTRICT, KERALA

Abstract

Education is essential for any society to enable its people to take their due place in its social, economical and cultural life. Education aims to help develop insights and skills so as to enable people to deal effectively with their problems (Sahu, 2001). Tribes have always been considered down trodden communities, and tribals perceived as secondary citizens due to contributory factors such as illiteracy and ignorance. The Paniya community in Wayanad is the most downtrodden tribe of all. The tribal populace is unaware of the importance of education and, consequently, do not encourage their children to complete their education and this has led to considerable numbers of young people dropping out of school and, in addition, large-scale absenteeism. The present study on absenteeism among Paniya students is aimed at examining the reasons for absenteeism among the said students and the attitude of the parents, in general, towards education. The economic backwardness of the tribes in the area was considered a major drawback, and a host of welfare programmes were implemented by the Government of Kerala for their betterment. It was observed that several factors accounted for the high rate of absenteeism in schools, and not merely the lack of financial security on the home front. Deprivation was a major factor that led to tribal students dropping out of school early on and begins working alongside their parents in right earnest. Contributory factors also included a lack of general awareness, indifference to the benefits of a general education, laziness, poor health, and the considerable difficulty involved in commuting long distances over inhospitable terrain." This paper also identifies the pitfalls that authorities at school are expected to deal with in order to prevent absenteeism among tribal students.