AGARTALA, July 28 (TIWN): While addressing at the National Seminar on ‘Tribal Education in India: Issues and Challenges’ at Pragna Bhawan, in Agartala, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb on Sunday has expressed serious concerns about education rate among Tripura tribes which is still below 50%.

Deb said, “Earlier British made English compulsory for education keeping leading languages like Hindi, Bengali behind. If this was the condition of mostly spoken languages of India, what about Jana-jati people’s language ? In my state there are few tribes whose population is only about 2000 and thus nobody cared about their mother-tongues. This was a major cause why Education could not reach out indigenous people”.

“The literacy rate of Tripura is below 50% among Jana-Jati people. Another reason of not educating children is the traditional thinking about what would happen after Educating children ? Where is the income from it ? But Education’s impacts are for lifetime, even though it’s not immediate”, CM said.

He also said, Govt of Tripura is keen to take care of indigenous people and thus started distribution of free food grains, which will be increased more.

He also mentioned, quality education matters citing example of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose and few more freedom fighters who went abroad for studies they only gave freedom to India because after higher education, their personality developed and deeply understood the importance of freedom of the nation.

“The Education system created in India by British was to create their servants. Naturally, those who studied in India became immediate British servants but others who went Britain, they freed India from British once they received the education”, added Deb.

Biplab Deb further mentioned about PM Modi and praised Asta-Laxmi Policy to upgrade 9 crores of Janajati people in the Northeast saying, PM Modi has successfully converted “Look East” into “Act East”.