The Kerala state education department has decided to launch a new project, incorporating tribal chieftains (Oorumoopans), to beat the alarmingly high dropout rates of tribal students in the state. The project, which comes under Gothra Vidya program, will be first launched in Wayanad district.

As per the project, the Moopans will be the ambassadors of education among the tribal communities. First, the administration will provide training for Moopans of around 2,000 tribal colonies this month so that they can motivate the students to attend classes, The Times of India reports.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) officials had said that in June 2016, around 1,000 tribal students have dropped out of schools, even though many names are in the rolls.

“We have decided to give the tribal chieftains a key role in the dropout recovery and prevention programme as their voice counts in tribal communities and they can positively influence the children's education,” TK Abbas Ali, Wayanad district project officer, SSA, told TOI.

MO Saji, SSA district programme officer told ToI, “There are many social and economic factors accounting for the high dropout rates among the tribespeople. Many parents are illiterate and they are not able to motivate the children to go to schools. We intend to inculcate the message through the tribal chieftains that their social advancement would be possible only through education. Just a bit of encouragement, guidance and monitoring can do a lot in preventing the dropouts.”

The report says that a survey conducted by the SSA had found that 1,331students were dropped out in last academic year.