46166-001: Supporting Human Capital Development in Meghalaya
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Indigenous Peoples Plan January 2013 IND: Supporting Human Capital Development in Meghalaya This indigenous peoples plan is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank ADC – Autonomous District Council DPCU – District Project Coordination Unit FGD – focus group discussion GOM – Government of Meghalaya HS – higher secondary IPP – Indigenous Peoples Plan JFPR – Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction M&E – monitoring and evaluation MSSDS – Meghalaya State Skill Development Society NGO – nongovernment organization PIU – Project Implementation Unit PMU – Project Management Unit RMSA – Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan SCF – Skills Challenge Fund SMC – school management committee SS – secondary ST – scheduled tribe TA – technical assistance TLPC – The Living Picture Company TVET – technical and vocational education and training CONTENTS A. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 B. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 2 a. Background 2 b. Project – Brief Description 3 c. Overview of the Project Area 3 C. SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT 4 a. Legal and Institutional Framework for Tribal Administration and Development 4 b. Baseline Information 6 D. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE, CONSULTATION, AND PARTICIPATION 6 a. Meaningful Consultations – Approach and Methodology 6 b. Key Findings 7 c. Incorporating Tribal and Gender Concerns into Project Design – The Proposed Plan 8 d. Safeguard Measures to Ensure Tribals Participation in Benefit Sharing 9 E. BENEFICIAL MEASURES 11 F. MITIGATIVE MEASURES 11 G. CAPACITY BUILDING 11 H. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM 11 I. MONITORING, REPORTING, AND EVALUATION 12 J. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT 12 K. BUDGET AND FINANCING 12 L. ANNEX I 13 M. ANNEX 2 16 A. Household Survey Conducted During Project Design – Key Findings 16 B. Detailed Feedback from the Focus Group Discussions 18 N. ANNEX 3 21 A. List of Persons Met/FGDs Held 21 B. Photos of FGDs 30 A. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. Meghalaya is a land-locked state in northeast India with a population of about 2.9 million. It is a predominantly tribal state with the various tribal groups listed in the Constitution Scheduled Tribe Order, 1950, accounting for 86% of the population. The Khasis and Garos are the two largest tribal groups constituting 56% and 34% respectively of the scheduled tribes (ST) in Meghalaya. The Jaintias (also referred to as Synteng) are listed as a sub-tribe under the Khasis, and constitute about 1% of the tribal population. The Hajong, Koch, and the Rabha are smaller tribes accounting for about 2% of Meghalaya’s tribal population. In addition, there are some minor tribes (Kukis, Mizos, Hmars etc) each of which account for around 0.1% or less of the tribal population of Meghalaya. 2. Even though Meghalaya has rich mineral reserves such as coal, limestone, and uranium, forest cover of more than 70%, and abundant rainfall, its economy has lagged behind owing to its remote location, hilly terrain, and poor infrastructure. The industrial base is underdeveloped with limited processing and value addition taking place within the state. 56% of Meghalaya’s population is below 25 years in age as compared to 49% for India as a whole. Meghalaya’s youth find it difficult to compete for formal jobs, especially outside the state, because of the poor quality of the state’s secondary and higher secondary (SS and HS) education, and the ineffective technical and vocational education training (TVET) programs. The low employability of the youth compounds the adverse effects of the structural constraints posed by Meghalaya’s poor connectivity and remote location, and traps the state in a vicious cycle of poverty and backwardness. 3. The government of Meghalaya (GOM) has therefore, been focusing on human capital development. The Twelfth Fifth Year Plan of Meghalaya (2012-2017) emphasizes three priority areas including “building capacity among the people, harnessing the state’s natural resources for sustainable livelihoods, and expanding and strengthening the infrastructure base.” It also notes that “’education and skill development will be the cornerstone of development for enhancing people’s productivity and employability. Endowing the poor and vulnerable groups, who are often landless and without access to capital would greatly benefit from human capital development which would empower them to participate gainfully in market activity. 4. The Supporting Human Capital Development in Meghalaya project will enhance the employability of Meghalaya’s youth by improving the quality and delivery of SS and HS education, and skill development programs. By bolstering the capability and livelihood of the tribal youth living in backward and remote areas, the project will support GOM in creating an enabling environment for inclusive growth. It will also have a positive impact on the socioeconomic status of tribal communities. In order to understand the views and aspirations of the tribal groups about the activities proposed under the project, a series of meaningful consultations were held with representatives of the major and minor tribal groups in Meghalaya including “dorbars / nokmas” or councils of village elders, women's groups, school management committees (SMCs), teachers, students, parents, NGOs, skill providers, and government officials during the design phase. All the districts of Meghalaya were covered. This has helped to understand the opportunities and constraints facing the different tribal groups, and their aspirations and concerns in the area of education and skill development. While the entire project is designed to reach out to all the tribal groups, a separate Indigenous People’s Plan (IPP) has also been prepared to ensure that the different tribal groups benefit equitably and in a culturally appropriate manner from the positive effects of the project during implementation. 2 B. Description of the Project a. Background 5. Low employability of the youth and poor human capital are major challenges facing India and most of its states such as Meghalaya. India’s labour force is around 470 million, 86% of which is in the informal sector. Of the working age group population (aged 15 to 59 years) of 431 million, 29% is not literate and another 24% has studied till the primary level or below. More than half of India’s labour force has very low level of education or none at all. Only 17% of the labour force has higher secondary (grades 11 and 12) and higher levels (including diplomas, graduates, and above) of education. 6. The situation is even more challenging in Meghalaya. While in 2007-2008, the gross enrolment ratio at the primary and upper primary levels was 191.5% and 103.3%, that at the SS and HS level was only 29.9% as compared to the all India average of 45.5%. For every 5 SS schools, there is only 1 HS school in Meghalaya. As table 1 shows, only 29% of Meghalaya’s students study in government schools or private unaided schools. 71% of the students, mostly from poor tribal households, study in the 591 government aided private schools (61% of total) which get limited salary support from the state government. Since these schools are not eligible for infrastructure support from the central or state government, their infrastructure is poor and far below the standards prescribed under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). 60% of Meghalaya’s SS schools do not have science laboratories, 72% do not have separate toilets for girls, and 27% do not have access to reliable drinking water. Table 1: Profile of Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools in Meghalaya Share in Secondary and Higher total Secondary Schools Number schools Share of students State + Central Government 33 3% 6% Private Unaided 337 35% 23% Private but govt. aided 591 61% 71% Total SS and HS Schools in Meghalaya 961 100% 100% 7. Due to the poor learning environment in majority of the schools, and limited capacity at the HS level, the quality of students passing out of the government-aided private schools is weak. This puts additional pressure on the state’s under-resourced skill development and technical and vocational education programs. Consequently, Meghalaya’s youth find it difficult to compete for formal jobs, especially outside the state. It is estimated that in 2009-2010, 62.3% of Meghalaya’s labor force was engaged in the primary, 25.6% in tertiary, and only 12.2% in the secondary sector.1 About 55% of the labor force is self-employed, 30% is casual labor, and only 15% is employed in the formal sector. Low employability of the youth therefore, compounds the adverse effects of the other structural constraints facing Meghalaya namely, remote and land- locked location, poor connectivity, hilly terrain, and weak infrastructure. 8. The 12th Five Year Plan of Meghalaya emphasizes human capital development through improvement in school education, especially at the SS and HS levels. It also focuses on results- 1 The primary sector comprises agriculture, hunting, forestry, and fishing. The secondary sector includes construction, manufacturing, and mining and quarrying while the tertiary sector includes hospitality, transport and communication, trade, banking, insurance and public administration. 3 oriented skill development to make the state’s growth more inclusive. GOM aims at universalizing secondary education as part of the RMSA mandate. The target is to provide SS schools within every 5 kms of habitation and HS schools within 7 to 10 kms of habitation. Different options for training the large backlog of nearly 15000 untrained primary school teachers and around 7000 untrained secondary school teachers are being reviewed. During the 12th Plan, effort will also be made to improve school infrastructure, especially science laboratories, emphasize mathematics, science, and English, and encourage use of ICT-based learning and use of computers.