Reserve 12% seats for ST kids in schools: NGOs

the goan I networkrPanajirrThe demand was voiced out at the meeting of NGOs called by the Goa Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Panaji. Delegates of over 60 NGOs participated in the meeting which was attended by Tribal Welfare Minister Govind Gaude. rGoa currently has an ST population of over 1.5 lakh. rCommission Chairman Prakash Velip said, “Many schools are hesitant to give admissions to children belonging to the ST community. Hence, the NGOs have demanded that schools receiving grant-in-aid from the State government should have 12 per cent quota reserved for children belonging to ST community.” rAdditionally, a demand was also made to set one residential school in each district to cater to students from primary-level to higher secondary-level, in addition to hostel facilities for ST students in cities like Margao and Panaji. NGOs also demanded waiving off of fees for ST students at college level, especially for professional colleges. rThe NGOs also demanded removal of income limit for availing of welfare schemes for STs. r“Currently, even if the salary of a sub-staff is concerned, it is more than Rs 1.5 lakh per annum. As there is this income criterion, many of our ST members cannot avail of schemes,” he lamented. rState Government may soon set up Tribal Advisory Council soon for effective implementation and monitoring of the tribal sub-plan. r“As per the Constitution, the Tribal Advisory Council has to be set up. In today’s meeting, NGOs have demanded setting up of this Council for the welfare of tribal community across the State,” he said. rTo make it easier to issue Tribal certificates to those belonging to the ST community, it was decided to hold camps even at panchayat level. r“Many departments are not maintaining their post-based roster. The NGOs have demanded that the Commission should keep a close watch and initiate strict action against those who do not maintain the roster. This will help in effective implementation of SC guidelines”, he said. rThe Commission also chalked out a detailed list of various programmes including training camps for government officers and career guidance sessions for the unemployed youth.