Education, conflict and development: A case study of mobile schools for pastoralists in Jammu and Kashmir

Abstract

The education of pastoral communities has assumed much importance in the past few years keeping in view the fact that in the changing world orders and globalization, the acquisition of literacy and numeracy has become a felt need among the nomads. In Jammu and Kashmir, one of the border states of India, Gujjars and Bakkarwals are among the 12 tribes which have been accorded Schedule Tribe status. The Gujjars and Bakkarwal tribes are also the two tribes which form the third largest community in Jammu and Kashmir and constitute 8.1 percent of the total population in the state. Primarily nomadic communities, they move to the lower, middle and higher mountain ranges of Pir Panjal mountains in the summer with their cattle and come back to the plains in the winters. The literacy rate among these tribes is quite low and they are considered as educationally backward communities. The armed conflict in Jammu and Kashmir which has entered its 25 year has also impacted the education of the Gujjars and Bakkarwals and they have greatly been disadvantaged in educational matters. Efforts to educate them including the opening of Mobile Primary Schools (MPS) by the Jammu and Kashmir government have failed to register remarkable progress. Despite various interventions to expand access to education since independence, the nomadic pastoralist communities in J&K have largely been excluded from the meaningful educational processes. The present paper aims to study the impact of Mobile Primary Schools opened by the Jammu and Kashmir government for this nomadic population. It also aims to study the reasons for lack of access of basic education to these nomads while identifying major constraints that limit the provision of education to Gujjars and Bakkarwals. It would also recommend suitable strategies through which education could be provided to pastoral nomads which can help them lead better lives.