Part II.pdf - MTB-MLE Network

Representation in elected bodies
Each ethnic group has its own internal organization to perform their socio-political activities at
village and regional levels. Positions in these tribal organizations are hereditary, and often in
a state of disorganization.
Until now, a very few – from ethnic minority communities living in the plains – have contested in
general elections for parliament, or at the district, sub-district and union levels. Ethnic minority
people in the Northwest, however, are distant from both local and national politics.
Education
An extremely low level of literacy prevails in the tribal communities. According to the 1991 Census,
only 14.1% are literate. The female literacy rate is only 7.41% compared to 20.5% male literacy.
(Biponna Bhumija by M. Kamal & A. Kibria)
In both the government and non-government schools, tribal children aged between 6 to 10 years
are admitted. After some time, however, they tend to drop out of school due to cultural and language
problems. The enrolment rate of tribal children in primary schools is much lower than non-tribal
children.
In government and non-government schools and literacy classes, the medium of instruction is Bengali
(the national language). There is no provision for using tribal language in these schools. A negligible
number of teachers from indigenous communities are recruited in the government/non-government
schools and colleges.
Indigenous people live in remote villages, and often they are far from the government/non-government
schools. Children have to walk many miles to get to the school. On average, they have to walk 3
to 5 km. There are few government schemes related to indigenous literacy and education. There
are quotas assigned to admission numbers, scholarships and the teaching profession, but these are
not maintained properly.
In the northwest plains of Bangladesh, the indigenous people have formed a political platform called
Jatio Adivashi Parishad in order to address their socio-political issues.
The government allocates approximately 6 lac taka to the indigenous inhabitants of upozilas 1 for
their educational, as well as cultural, development.
The relationship between the tribal and non-tribal people is often strained due to socio-economic
and cultural exploitation, abuse of human rights, forced eviction from their homesteads and other
causes. Through this insecurity in socio-economic and cultural life, indigenous peoples have been
pushed to the margins of society and have experienced powerlessness. Thus, on many levels, the
tribal people are isolated from wider society.
1
“Upazilla” means sub-district.
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