The Adi Shakti Summer School (ASSS), a collective of Adivasi and Dalit youths under the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha (AGMS), is gearing up to submit a memorandum to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on a host of issues being faced by tribal children in the State.

The pandemic situation and online education had made the tribal education sector more complex in the State, AGMS leader M. Geethanandan said. As many as 2,287 tribal students have passed SSLC examination this year in the State, but only 730 seats were allocated for their higher studies, Mr. Geethanandan said.

Though the organisation had requested K. Radhakrishnan, Minister for Tribal Welfare, and Tribal Development Director T.V. Anupama to evolve a permanent solution to the issues by increasing the number of seats in Model Residential Schools for tribal students and opening special batches, any positive steps were yet to be adopted, Mr. Geethanandan said.

Hence, the organisation was planning to submit a memorandum to the government on a host of issues being faced by tribal children in the State, he said.

K. Mary Lydia, coordinator, Adi Shakthi Summer School, said apart from the issues related to higher education of tribal students, issues such as re-enrolment of the tribal school dropouts from online education with the assistance of the tribal promoters, mentor teachers and volunteers; need for exemption for tribal students from paying fees at the time of admission for graduate and postgraduate courses; increasing the number of post-metric hostels for tribal students; disbursing thousands of unused laptops under the possession of KITE to tribal students; cancelling the norms for handover of seats of tribal students to general category in the absence of the former and bringing all academic fees under e-grant system would be raised. The memorandum would be submitted to Mr. Vijayan on November 1 as part of launching an indefinite protest, K. Mary Lydia, coordinator, Adi Shakthi Summer School, said.

More than 600 tribal students in the State got guidance for various courses and 100 students got admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses with the assistance of the helpdesk of the summer school during the academic year, Ms. Lydia said,adding that the organisation would conduct an orientation camp for tribal children on higher studies at the Adhyapaka Bhavan auditorium at Sulthan Bathery on Monday.