Agartala, June 12 (TIWN): Deeply concerned at the less pass-percentage in the board examinations, chief of Tripura Tribal Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) Dr. Ranajit Debbarma said there is an urgent need to provide quality education in the tribal dominated areas to improve the education system.

In the recently declared Higher Secondary examinations, only 49 percent students of ADC areas could pass the hurdle which is almost 12 percent less than that of overall pass percentage. In Madhyamik examinations, the pass percentage of ADC schools is 11/12 percent less with compare to students from plain areas. “Most of the schools in tribal council areas are facing shortage of teachers despite repeated appeal to the state government. More so, few schools have science teachers resulted in students remained deprived proper guide for years”, Dr. Debbarma said over telephone from Kanchanpur.

The ADC’s Chief Executive Member (CEM) admitted there has been an urgent need to provide quality education to tribal students. “Only due attention by the state and the ADC administration could reverse the fortune of the tribal students. We will talk to the state government on how to provide quality education in the schools functioning in tribal areas”, he said. On being asked about ADC empowerment issue, the CEM said, “This is a long pending demand of the tribal people of the state. The UPA-II government could not empower the tribal council constituted under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Now we will put forward the same demand before the BJP led government very shortly”. Dr. Debbarma added, he plans to meet Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) and Union Minister for Tribal Welfare and Union Home Minister to push the ADC empowerment issue.