JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 18, 2020 A SURVEY AMONG THE COLLEGE-GOING STUDENTS OF THE KRA DAADI DISTRICT OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH ON THEIR ATTITUDE TOWARDS EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT IN THE DISTRICT 1John Pudussery, 2Dr. Philomina M.J 1Research Scholar, Department of Education, Arunachal University of Studies, Namsai, Arunachal Pradesh, India. 2Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Arunachal University of Studies, Namsai, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Received: 14 March 2020 Revised and Accepted: 8 July 2020 ABSTRACT: Education is one of the measuring yards of progress. Arunachal Pradesh which lies in the northeastern part of India is isolated in many ways. Its geographical condition and remoteness made the area inaccessible to the rest of India and the world. While India embarked on a surge of educational development through national education policies and plans, this area remains unaffected by these. The goodwill of successive plans and projects to improve the educational standards of this region found partial success. This article studies the educational environment in the Kra Daadi district of Arunachal Pradesh, where the majority of the population belongs to the Nyishi tribe. The survey done among the college students of this district, using Google Form, sheds light on the educational environment in the district. This study is meant to be an eye-opener to the leaders of the region regarding the modern educational concerns of the present-day youth. It is also an invitation to the governmental and non-governmental agencies to consider alternative steps in improving the condition of education keeping in mind the present-day educational requirements in the district. Key Words: Arunachal Pradesh, Kra Daadi district, Nyishi, Educational environment 1. INTRODUCTION The state Arunachal Pradesh is located in the extreme North-Eastern corner of the country. It is therefore called „the land of the rising sun‟. The biggest of all the seven North-Eastern states, Arunachal Pradesh is mostly mountainous in geographical nature. Arunachal Pradesh finds mention in such ancient Hindu literature as the Kalika-Purana and the epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana. Formerly known as the North-East Frontier Agency (from the British colonial era), the area was part of Assam until it was made the Indian union territory of Arunachal Pradesh in 1972, and in 1987 it became an Indian state [1]. The state of Arunachal Pradesh is situated between 26o 28o North and 29o 31o North latitude and between 91o 31o N and 97o 30o East longitudes. “It shares international borders with Bhutan in the West, Tibet in the north and northeast and Myanmar in the east. It also borders the states of Assam and Nagaland in the south and southeast” [2]. Arunachal Pradesh has “one of the world‟s most difficult mountainous regions extremely precipitous and highly jagged measuring an area about 83,743 sq. km”[3]. “There are as many as 110 major and minor tribes that inhabit in the state. Arunachal people belong to Paleo- Mongoloid stock and speck the Tibeto-Burmese group of languages”[4]. The population of Arunachal Pradesh is 1,382,611(census 2011). The original inhabitants of Arunachal Pradesh are tribal people, belonging to 26 major tribes and 110 sub-tribes. These people have their dialects, culture, and tradition[5]. The signs of growth were already visible, as many young boys and girls went out of the state seeking education at various institutions run by various Christian organizations in the northeast of India and even outside of it. After 1972, when Itanagar was chosen as the location for the capital of the state, the Nyishis took full advantage of the occasion. This puts them on the road to rapid growth and development[6]. Various sources point out that Nyishis have migrated from the north-east. They seem to have crossed the Supung River i.e., the present Tsangpo River in China. They are believed to be one among the five Tani tribes (Nyishi, Adi, Galo, Apatani, Tagin) as they are considered to have descended from „Abo Tani‟[7]. This article investigates the link between the development of the Nyishi society and Christian educational institutions. 3316 JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 18, 2020 2. KRA DAADI DISTRICT Kra Daadi is a district in Arunachal Pradesh. The state assembly discussed the division of the huge Kurung Kumey district into two. Under the Arunachal Pradesh Re-Organization of Districts (Amendment) Bill it was approved on 21 March 2013 [8]. The then chief minister, Shri Nabam Tuki inaugurated the 19th district of Arunachal Pradesh on 7 February 2015. Thus Kra Daadi was born. The district headquarters - Jamin is located 20 km away from Palin. However, as of now, New Palin serves as the district headquarter for all official purposes. It has two assembly constituencies - Tali, and Palin. The district covers eight circles namely, Palin, Jamin, Yangte, Chambang, Tarak Langdi, Gangte, Tali, and Pipsorang [9]. New Palin is the only semi-town in the entire district with a population of 11251, as per the 2011 census. This town too is inhabited by the Nyishis. Talking about the educational scenario in the district, Government Higher Secondary school New Palin established in 1957 is the only educational institution that gives education till class 12 [8]. It is supported by the government of Arunachal Pradesh and affiliated to CBSE, New Delhi. There are a few private schools offering education up to the upper primary level [10]. Recently a government graduation college is set up close to New Palin. The quality of this particular institution cannot be ascertained as of now. 2.1 Over-view of the Educational Institutions in the District The district which was established in the year 2015 has 2 assembly constituencies and 8 circles (sub-divisions). The area is vast and has very poor road connectivity even during the dry seasons of the year. Most of the regions of this district can be termed as inaccessible. Although new roads are being constructed, commuters find it a gruesome task to move from place to place. Most take recourse to walking rather than wait for vehicles to travel as a consequence the sick and the aged find it difficult. This condition has affected the education in the region. The government has attempted in establishing schools in almost all the villages. But the functioning of these schools is far from satisfactory. To add to this, there is just one higher secondary school (upto class 12) in the entire district. This is situated in the semi-town of New Palin. It requires hours of travel from far the flung villages to reach New Palin even by vehicle. Very recently, the government has taken initiatives to begin a degree college in Palin. Since this is in its stage of infancy, it would be unfair to judge its quality. Therefore, most students prefer to leave the district for their studies. When we consider this fact, there is much to be desired in the present educational environment in the district. The picture is clear from Table:1 which shows the number of educational institutions in the district. This is not conducive in helping the educational growth of the district. Sl. Type of Institution Total Number 1 Higher Secondary School 1 2 High School 6 3 Middle Schools 142 4 Primary Schools 7 5 Total 156 Table 1: Number of educational institutions (upto Cl.12) 3. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE As the whole country gears up to launch into a new educational reform, the objective of the new National Education Policy 2020 is vivid. It aims at the promotion of „lifelong learning opportunities for all‟ which is in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030. With this in mind, our country needs to take important steps to make quality education accessible to all, especially in the backward regions of it. There are still many areas of our country which need special attention to make the „learning opportunities‟ available to all [11]. Together with providing educational opportunities „drop-out‟ is another issue to be tackled. Data compiled by the All India Forum for Right to Education (AIFRTE) shows that despite consecutive governments‟ outward commitment to providing education to all in early education, out of the children admitted in Class 1, only about 6% of STs, 8% of SCs, 9% of Muslims and 10% of OBCs are able to complete schooling till class 12 [11]. This is another cause for worry, especially in the remote areas of the country. Students tend to drop out as accessibility to higher education is not available in their native places. 3317 JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 18, 2020 „Social change‟ is a phenomenon that takes place all around us. But all changes are not worthy of praise. Education acts as a „tool for social control‟. It acts as a social agency that has two important functions – it assimilates and filters all that goes around it and then it transmits them responsibly to the next generations. A dynamic and durable culture keeps admitting new influences with caution, without losing its innate values. It is in this process of filtering that value of education is experienced. Therefore, education acts as a highly organized responsible social institution[12]. Education is the basis for the implementation of the sustainable development of society. Education has its control over the spiritual and moral priorities of personality. Therefore, education lays a strong foundation for sustainable development by forming new thinking and behavior[13]. The developing countries consider the investment in primary education a priority as it is directly linked to the per capita income of the country. Developed or developing countries consider investment in the education of women more profitable than investing for men.