Abstract

Transition from education to work is one of the most crucial phases in the life of any young person. Youth are considered to be a significant segment of population that can help in reaping demographic dividend for any community. For the tribals of Jharkhand who constitute 26.2% of the population of the state, the tribal youth’s trajectory of their transition to work calls for an enquiry. This paper is the result of a quantitative study based on the data acquired from 60 tribal youth from the age group of 15-29 years belonging to three tribes namely Oraon, Munda and Kharia in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand. Moreover, data was also collected from 15 employers in the city. Questionnaire based on school-to-work-transition survey tool developed by ILO was customized for acquisition of relevant data. The study found that there was mobility and migration of rural tribal youth to city. Tribal youth from educated families have smoother transition and youth from poorer families find it rough. The study indicates a transition of tribal youth from agrarian and traditional occupation to other types of jobs in city. The tribal youth face lack of vocational and professional training, job preparedness and consequently they are vulnerable to unemployment. There is a clear lack of entrepreneurship and business activities among tribal youth of Jharkhand. Moreover, the tribal youths lack general guidance in education, career, employment and access to employment services. Poverty combined with low level of aptitude and skills makes the tribal youth’s transition to work rather difficult. The study found that access to information seems to be a crucial key to job market for the tribal youth of Jharkhand

Shilanand Kerketta is Pre Doctoral Scholar, Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai

Introduction

India has experienced a spurt of growth in the population of youth in recent years. 358 million or almost one third of the country’s population is aged between 10-24 years. National Youth Policy of India defines youth as those belonging to the age group of 15 to 29 years (Ministry of Youth Affaris and Sports, 2014). This age group constitutes 27.5% of the population of the country (Census, 2011). This youth ‘bulge’ can prove to be a ‘demographic dividend’ for the country (Ministry of Youth Affaris and Sports, 2014). For the tribal communities too, young population can prove advantageous if they are taken care of, else it can prove to be detrimental to their development.

Education-to-work-transition is one of the most crucial phases in the life of any young person (Schoon & Silbereisen, 2009). The education to work transition is defined as the passage of a young person (aged 15-29 years) from the end of schooling to the first regular or satisfactory job (International Labour Organisation, 2009). According to ILO, There are three main stages of education to work transition: Transited, in transition and transition not yet started (International Labour Organisation, 2009). The path, duration and mode of transition from education to work differ from individual to individual and group to group. Tribal Communities of Jharkhand have their own socio economic, cultural and political context; hence the education to work transition of tribal youth has its own features.

Industrialisation, liberalization, globalisation and various developmental activities have brought about transformation among the tribal communities (Xaxa, 1999). In the recent years, there have been educational interventions in the tribal areas. Eastern State of India, Jharkhand, carved out of Bihar on 15 November, 2000 has tribals who constitute 26.2% of the population of the state. Some of the tribal dominated districts of the state were put under Schedule V. Literacy Rate of Jharkhand is 67.63 % against national literacy rate of the country 74.04 (Census, 2011). Since literacy is the basis of all other development, this scenario presents are bleak picture of affairs of the state in Jharkhand. There are 32 tribes in Jharkhand. The Santhals constitute the largest tribal group in the state. The Oraons constitute 19.62%, Mundas 14.81% and Kharias 2.31% of the tribal population of the state (Census, 2011). There are various difficulties of tribal students which they face their education. Even after the completion of their studies there are various issues in their employment (Ray, 2001). The tribals of central India face many issues like paradox of development, alienation due to developmental activities and factors that affect their economy and their development (Hooja, 2004). Moreover, tribals are caught up in the trap of poverty and backwardness. Most of them are employed in poor and unorganised sectors. Therefore, it follows that tribes cannot be developed by others, they can be only facilitators. They themselves have to develop themselves (Chaudhury, 2010). Hence the question arises what are the processes, channels, duration and perspectives in education to work transition of the tribal youth of Jharkhand?

Methodological Considerations

Descriptive design was followed for the study. For the purpose of study, the urban region of Ranchi was taken as the universe of the study. It was divided into 4 regions. Stratified random sampling was used for the study. There were two groups of samples: young tribal employees (15-29 years) and employers. The sample size was 75: 60 young tribal employees and 15 employers within the city of Ranchi were respondents. The young respondents were from three tribes of Jharkhand namely Oraons, Mundas and Kharias. ILO’s school-to-work transition survey (STWS) was customised to suit the context of the study keeping in mind the respondents. Data was compiled in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software for the analysis.

From Context to Text

The study found that 61.7% of tribal youth came from the rural areas whereas 36.7% come from small towns. It indicates that most of the tribal youth have their original residences in the rural areas. There is mobility and migration of tribals within the state. The most of the parents of the tribal youth had some exposure to education. It further indicates that not all the tribal youth are first generation learners. Hence, it is a myth to say that tribal youth are isolated from modern education. The youth whose parents had some exposure to education and urban life, have better chances of smooth transition from education to work. Their level of job and living conditions are better off than the rest of the tribals who come to the urban areas from agricultural background and rural areas.

Over the decades, the new vistas for job opportunities have opened up in the state. Opening of service sectors like hotels and restaurants in the capital city of Jharkhand has provided opportunities for the semi-skilled and unskilled tribal youth to get employed in the private and informal sector. Moreover, wages and salary level of the employed tribal youth indicates that majority of the tribal youth work for low wages. 13.3% of the respondents received salary as low as Rs. 4000 and below. 16.7% of the respondents received an amount between Rs.4000 – 6000. The bulk of the respondents, i.e. 20% of the respondents received amount between Rs.6000 to 8000. 16.7% of the respondents received an amount of Rs. 8000-10000. One of the reasons for low monthly salary is that most of the tribal youths work in the informal sectors.

Most of the tribal youth tend to become job seekers immediately after their education. Hence they become more vulnerable to unemployment after their studies. The study indicates that half of the tribal youth were first-timers in their employment. It was the first job for half of the respondents. 46.7% of the respondents had not applied for any job before starting work. A considerable number of them, 41.7% had never attended any interview before starting their work. The entrepreneurial activities, self-employment and initiatives seem to be lacking among the tribal youth. Tribal youth seem to be unfamiliar and uncomfortable to work in the current competitive markets, dynamics of market forces in the present globalized economy. Business activity is one of the least preferred occupation among the tribal youth of Jharkhand.

35% of the tribal youth were of the opinion that the most important goal in their life was finding purpose and meaning in life. Most of the tribal youth come from agrarian background and they seem to be attracted by security of government and paid jobs. A vast majority i.e. 78% preferred work for the government/public sector. Reservation in job, security and permanency in the government sector are attractive factors for the respondents. In the case of the tribal youth, majority of them did not have access to any employment services. Majority of the unemployed tribal youth were not aware of the employment services within their state. Only 28.3% of the respondents said that they had registered themselves as job seekers with the employment service. The rest did not receive any advice, help or assistance from the employment service. As many as 56.7% of the respondents were of the opinion that they did not receive any guidance while pursuing their studies and even after completion of their studies and seeking job. They are left to themselves when it comes to pursuing their education and choosing their career and finding jobs. Apart from this they also lack motivation and will which are essential to succeed in education as well as any career. 35% of the respondents said that the ambience of the village was not helpful for their education.

More than three fourth of the respondents had access to the stipend for education. 71.7% of the respondents were aware about the ST reservation quotas available in government job. Only 26.7% of the respondents were not aware of the ST reservation quota available in government jobs. More than half of the respondents i.e. 53.3% said that ST quota was helpful in getting employment. Almost one third of the total respondents i.e. 31.7% were of the opinion that ST quota was not helpful to them in getting employment. 15% of the respondents said that they did not know whether ST quota was helpful or not. A sizeable number of respondents i.e. 28.3% of the respondents said that it was difficult for them get job in spite of the ST quota. 16.7% of the respondents found it very difficult to get the job though there was provision of ST quota for them. Tribal dominated areas of Jharkhand has been under Chotanagpur Tenancy Act of 1908 aimed at preserving the land rights of the tribals of the state. In the post independence era, opening of several mines and industries drew influx of population from the northern parts of the erstwhile undivided Bihar. As a result of continuous immigration from the other regions into Jharkhand, the percentage of tribals has seen decline in the state. Within this scenario of continuous marginalisation in their own habitat, the demand for reservation has been upheld by the tribals. In recent times, there have been debates about reservation of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe by both supporters and opponents of reservation (Louis, 2003). The tribals of Jharkhand seem to benefit from the reservation but there are still, many tribal youth who struggle to get employment in government or formal sector.

A significant number of respondents got the information about the vacancies from their friends through the word of mouth. Newspaper was the second most important source of information about the job vacancies for the respondents. Almost one fifth of the respondents accessed the information about the job vacancies through employment specific magazines and newspapers. Internet was accessed for job vacancies by just a negligible 2% of the respondents. Access to internet facility is low among the tribal youth. This lack of access to technology poses a hindrance to their job search and access to information. 70% of the respondents said that the schools wherein they studied were run by Christian missionaries. 18.3% of the respondents studied in government run schools. In the tribal dominated areas of Jharkhand, private organisations and Non-government Organisations play a significant role in the field of education, particularly in elementary and secondary level of education. Majority of the respondents had studied in Hindi medium schools. 78.3% of the respondents said that they had studied in Hindi medium school. Only 21.7% of the respondents said that they had studied in English medium schools. There is a trend among the tribals who live in urban areas to send their children to English medium schools. 58.3% said that English was very important. Moreover, 28.3% of the respondents said that the knowledge of English was crucial from the viewpoint of getting job. 10% of the respondents said that knowledge of English was important.

Majority of the employers were of the opinion that the writing skill of the tribal students was adequate. As regards, technical skill of the tribal youth 33.3% of the employers said that the tribal youth had very poor technical skill. 53% of the employers were of the view that the oral communication skill of the tribal youth was very poor. 40% of employers said that the breadth of education among the tribal students is adequate while one fourth of the respondents were of the opinion that breadth of the education among the tribal youth was poor. As regards the commitment and discipline among the tribal youth, 46.7% of the employers said that it was adequate among the tribal youth. 40% of the employers were of the opinion that the overall aptitude of the tribal students was poor.

36.7% of the respondents said that there was increase in income due to their employment. 15% of the respondents said that they had access to better medical facilities. 10% of the respondents said that they had more savings in bank accounts whereas 6.7% of the respondents were of the opinion that there was improvement in the facilities in the house. The responses indicate that the respondents gained higher self-confidence after they got employed in their current job. 48.3% of the respondents were of the opinion that with their employment, they had higher social status in comparison with their tribal counterparts. 41.7% of the respondents were of the opinion that their social status was equal to that of the non-tribals in their state. Hence it is observed that with employment, status of the tribal people gets elevated. There is a significant change in their social mobility as they hold jobs and become self-reliant.

Conclusion

Transition from education to work can be smooth or rough, it has to do with the socio economic background of the tribal youths of Jharkhand. In this context, modern education: schools, colleges, universities, professional and training institutes as institutions of socialization and vehicle for transformation play their role. In earlier tribal societies of Jharkhand, youth dormitories played a vital role in their socialization. In the present context of education and the work field, tribal youth are faced with a challenge to maintain their ‘tribalness’. At the same time, they are faced with a challenge to find their own path, process and pace in their transition to work.

References

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