Primitive tribe kids convince parents, more kids go to school

Amitava Das
Ayodhya Hills (West Bengal), Feb 17 (PTI) After studying in a school for six months, something unusual in her tribe, 13-year-old tribal labourer Sukurmani Besra felt sorry for the Pharia girl she befriended while tending cattle in the forests, but could not bring her to the school.

Paharias are a primitive tribe and hunter-gatherers who live in the Ayodhya Hills, a Maoist-affected area known for ecological beauty, in Purilia district of West Bengal.

"I missed Sanjana Paharia and felt sorry for her while studying in the school. So, I asked the teacher if I could ask her to come to school as well," Sukurmani, a student of Saharjuri special school on Ayodhya Hills says.

Paharia girls tend cattle, collect firewood and Paharia boys ensnare hare and other small animals for meat. They remain uneducated and away from the touch of modern society, officials say.

Bringing the Paharia boys and girls to school was not easy, they say.

Manor Kumar Mahato, a teacher of the special school run under National Child Labour Project, says, "The Paharia parents declined to send kids to school despite our persuasions. They were only convinced when Sukurmani and her school uniform wearing classmates explained to them in their dialect." PTI