Collective Arivu Samoogam asks TN gov't to refrain from merging Adi Dravidar schools with education department  

Arivu Samoogam, a collective of NGOs and activists, alleged that the Government of Tamil Nadu is attempting to introduce the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 by bringing the Adi Dravidar Welfare (ADW) and tribal schools under the school education department. They said this during a press meet on Tuesday, April 4, and urged the state government to not facilitate the merger, stated a report by The New Indian Express.

A three-day discussion attended by professors, teachers, NGOs, students, the public and educationists was held by the collective, in which, more than 99% opined against the merger as this would transfer the assets of Adi Dravidar and the tribal community to the general public.

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The issues that will come up
"There is a fear that after the merger of the schools, ADW schools will be shut down citing various issues including low strength. As per the National Education Policy 2020, the schools are only divided into government schools and private schools. The state government is trying to merge the schools to facilitate the implementation of NEP as it is not possible with the existence of ADW and Tribal schools that have special status. Moreover, NEP also suggests linking of 'weak' schools with private schools or bringing them under a school complex," said Prince Gajendra Babu, an educationist speaking at the press meet.

The members reasoned the lack of permanent teachers for the poor show of the Adi Dravidar Welfare Schools in the board examinations and asked the government not to blame the department. "We have been asking to create a structure with education officers at block and district levels as the schools are now monitored by revenue officials. However, it has not been done yet. When the government can't ensure that there is a common crematorium in many of the villages, how can they ensure there is no discrimination of Adi Dravidar students in the schools," asked Tamil Mudhalvan, Head of Arivu Samoogam.

The members of the collective demanded the government discuss the decision with the stakeholders and if not, they will protest to get the attention of the government and explore legal options to stop the move, they added.