Tribal Education in Jammu and Kashmir

Scheduled Tribes are a minority; they constitute about 8.6 % of the total population in India (Census of India, 2011). The Scheduled Tribe population represents one of the most economically impoverished and marginalized groups in India. Currently, the tribals lag behind not only the general population but also the Scheduled Caste population in literacy and educational attainment. The literacy rate of tribals of Jammu and Kashmir is 50.6%, which is much lower than the national average of 59.0% aggregated for all tribals, which is also, lagging behind the total literacy rate of Indian population, i.e. 74.04% (Census of India 2011). The present book is a humble attempt in this direction to find out the factors associated with the educational achievement of tribal adolescents which are supposed to be important contributing factors for educational achievement. A comparison of the said variables with non-tribal sample shall make the study more meaningful and the findings will portray a clearer picture for the educational advancement and status of the tribals of Kashmir.