Need for Education for Female: Problems and Prospects- A View from Nilgiris

Scheduled tribes are the people who are socially, educationally and economically backward; who have been living in mountains and forest and who are using primitive technology of production. The problem of universal elementary education and literacy should be tackled through a strong social movement with clear cut goals and involvement of all supportive elements/agencies in the society. Therefore, to achieve a sustainable balanced development which is the key area concern in hilly regions, the present study was undertaken. The study aimed at analyzing need for female education with the following objectives; to study the status of formal education and achievement among the tribes; to analyze the reasons/barrier of girls’ education; to undertake the determinants of poverty among the tribes; to suggest corrective measures to enhance education among the tribes. The details were collected with the help of a questionnaire schedule which was administered to 600 samples at Udhagamandalam and Kotagiri. The study found at that all efforts in respect of elementary education can be successful only if we have strong administration to administer different programmes and implement policies.