Spreading wisdom
The success story of education in Arunachal Pradesh has been narrated by Purer Haimendorf. The socio-economic and political strength which Arunachal tribes enjoy has no doubt been the rock on which the edifice was founded and on which it subsequently grew. The strategy they adopted was based on the residential school pattern (for middle and secondary and higher secondary level).
However, the Arunachal model was low cost, and suited the socio-culture matrix of tribal society. Stipends for mess fees were paid directly to the students and it was left to them to get together and manage the mess by sharing all the duties of the kitchen (including the task of fetching firewood from the jungle). This was a purely indigenous and pragmatic strategy that saved the state administration a lot of bother, not to mention the saving in establishment costs.
Arunachal Pradesh has always been a protected area since Independence while it was also spared the colonial intrusions of the past. Political power vests with the tribals. Hence, the average tribal child in Arunachal Pradesh has a future to look forward to. On the other hand, the average Gondi child so far has little to look forward to except for the bleak, bitter struggle to survive.