Jamshedpur: In Jharkhand, many children fail to receive quality education. Although some children simply do not have access to a school, others are hindered for socio-economic reasons. Some do not attend because of the low value their parents place on education. Birhore community is one such example where the children faced a lot of issues to access quality education ranging from socio-cultural taboos to economic condition of their parents.
In an endeavour to provide quality education to the primitive tribes, Tata Steel at West Bokaro has enrolled 34 Birhore children to St Robert�s High School, Hazaribagh. The Company bears all the education expenses like boarding, lodging, fees etc. for these children who have been showing keen interest in education now-a-days.
The initiative aims at bringing the underprivileged Birhore community to the mainstream through quality education. Under the initiative, 34 children of Birhore Tola from Duru Kasmar village under Mandu block of Ramgarh district were identified and inducted for residential education at St Robert’s High School, Hazaribagh.
Believing that the promise of education opens a world of possibilities for a child, the initiative was started in 2013 with 10 students from the community being enrolled in the school and currently the figure has risen to 34. Seeing the interest and happiness among the children, Tata Steel plans to induct more Birhore children to this school in the coming fiscal year.
Expressing her happiness on joining the school, Muskaan Birhor, a student of class VII, St Robert�s High School, Hazaribagh asserts, �Today I�m going to school; one day I will become a teacher and show other children from my community that education can change our lives for the better.�
�Tata Steel has always been taking initiatives for the upliftment of the Birhore community of the region but we strongly believe that by providing mere facilities to the under-privileged will not assist them to come to the mainstream but by providing quality education to these children, we can help them become self-reliant�, said Sanjay Kumar Singh, General Manager (Coal), Tata Steel.
Apart from this, Tata Steel has also been providing quality education to many more children from SC and ST community at Sishu Niketan School, Housing Area, Ghatotand. Parents of most of these students work as contract labours and are below poverty line. Also started in 2013, this initiative started with 30 students and now 134 students are covered under this initiative.
Depending upon the need, these students studying in class VIII – X are also provided pre-matric coaching by TSRDS where special classes on English, Maths and Science are being provided to the students so that they can excel in the exam.
As part of its Affirmative Action Policy and efforts towards inclusive growth and development of Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST) community, the West Bokaro Division of Tata Steel has also been awarding Tata Steel Jyoti Fellowship to meritorious students of West Bokaro, Last year, 200 students were awarded Jyoti Fellowship. Since inception 2012-13, a total of 836 students have been awarded with this fellowship.
