SEBASTIAN HUNTER MEMORIAL SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

PROJECT TRUST
th
No. 6, 10 East Cross Road, Gandhi Nagar, Vellore, 632 006, Tamil Nadu, India.
Telephone: 0091 416 2243165, Mobile: 0091 9843042695
Email: emma.koshi@gmail.com, Website: www.sebsprojectsindia.org
A Report on the Marcus Memorial Tribal School in Panangkatteri
Village in Jawadhi Hills, Vellore District

About Jawadhi Hills

Jawadhi Hills is a small hill range 80 km long and 40 wide, that runs across
the Vellore and Thiruvanamallai districts of Tamil Nadu state, India. The
Jawadhi Hills are home to the Hindu Malayali tribe (rulers of the hills), a
tribal group recognised by the Government of
India.
Development in the Jawadhi Hills has been
slow, as the area was designated as a forest
reserve by the government decades ago,
leaving 250 villages with a total population of
80,000
people lagging
behind
in the
development index
The people of Jawadhi Hills are mostly
uneducated (over 95% of adults are illiterate)
and are small-scale subsistence farmers or land laborers. Most people are
forced into illegal trades such as tree logging, alcohol-making and gunmaking to support their families. Child labor is also rife in these areas, and
children are often sent to work in the fields in other parts of Tamil Nadu or in

the neighboring states of Karnataka and Kerala. Child marriage is also

common here, with girls as young as 14 forced into marriages by their
parents.

Education in Panangkatteri Tribal School

PRESENT EDUCATIONAL STATUS OF THE VILLAGE

DEGREE
HR .SEC
HIGH SCHOOL
EDUCATIONAL LEVELS
MIDDLE SCHOOL

MALE
FEMALE
DROPOUT

PRIMARY LEVEL
0 20 40
STUDENTS

To strengthen our role in

providing these basic rights, i.e. education and health, we at Sebs are
constantly on the lookout for children who are out of school and deprived of
education. It was brought to our knowledge the need for a middle school in
a tribal village called Panangkatteri, where there are about 30 -35 tribal
young people who have completed their primary education (Class 5) from
the village school and have not been able to pursue higher education. The
nearest middle and high school is in Ambur, which is about 12 km away, and
a school in Nayakaneeri, 21 km away. They also have the menace of wild
elephants, making their journeys unsafe; no means of transportation except
by foot or bike; and a lack of motivation from the parents to support their
children. Please find below a survey of the population.

Adolescent
s

Children
0-5 yrs

6-12 yrs

M
38

M
55

28

F
49

13 18 yrs
M
54

F
48

Men and Women

19 to 60
yrs
M
F
152 142

61 and
above
M
F
18
19

Total
Famili
es

Total
Populati
ons

146

603

We are happy to report that we have identified a young tribal teacher - Mr.
Jayamohan who has a Masters Degree in Mathematics, who brought the
issues of the children in his village to our notice and who is well-respected in

his community and passionate to make a difference.

Because of his enthusiasm and concern, we at Sebs
were able to negotiate with the Forest Department to
provide an unused room to hold classes in the village.
We are happy to report that for the past two month,
we have had 30 children attending classes and more
expected to register in the coming weeks. The teacher
is of the opinion that more children will attend when
we start the noon meal programme, as many of the
children are forced to work just to keep them from hunger.
We are hopeful that 10 more students will be enrolled in the next few
months, as they have at present migrated to nearby towns like Tirupur for
work at the T-Shirt factories.

Community Meeting:
Last week we organized a community meeting in
the village with the support of the existing
primary school head master Mr. Satish. As most
of the tribal communities are illiterate the aim of
the meeting was to help them understand the
importance of educating their children and the
role they must play as parents.
Educational Materials & Sports Equipments:
In order to maintain the quality and uniformity of education in each of our
tribal schools, Sebs have supplied textbooks, notebooks and sports
equipment for all children in accordance to their class requirements. The
students were also provided with books, pencils, pens, erasers and other
educational supplies. Sports activities are encouraged in all our schools and
each school is provided with the necessary sports equipment and a
dedicated sports teacher.

(Students at the Panangkateri Tribal School)

Nutrition
Recent surveys in the villages have found
that, on average, over 57% of children are
badly undernourished. In all our tribal
schools, we have increased the nutritional
intake of children by providing them with a
healthy hot meal of rice, lentils and
vegetables in the afternoon and a proteinrich snack of chickpeas in the evening.
Improving the diet of these children has
proven, in some cases, to have beneficial
secondary effects, such as fewer children
being trafficked to work in the fields. Parents who used to take their children
along with them to the plains for seasonal work now prefer to leave the
children with their relatives in the village to attend school. Taking care of the
childrens dietary needs also eases the burden on the parents and relatives
to have to set aside time from work to cook and serve them lunch. We
believe that by providing a nutritious meal, the children will be more
attentive, will have a higher attendance at school, and be healthier.
Therefore, the need for a nutritional program cannot be understated.
We are happy to report we have been successful in initiating a noon meal
program since two weeks.

Thank you!
The Sebs Team.