New students at the vocational training center

I’ve been back at the vocational training center for about a month now, since summer vacation starts at the primary schools in early April. Over 300 students are now enrolled in the current batch, making it the largest group the center has ever had. Over 100 students come from Dharampur, a hilly forested area in Southeast Gujarat populated mostly by Adivasis, also called Tribals. Adivasis are generally considered to be India’s indigenous population. Because they traditionally lived in more isolated parts of India, they did not absorb the caste system and do not practice untouchability with Dalits.

Adivasis, which I think are about 8% of the Indian population, are one of the most marginalized communities in India. Many have been forced to migrate to urban areas in search of labor because their previous source of livelihood—the forest—has been increasingly sold off by the government to private companies, or degraded by encroaching non-Adivasi industrialists past the point of its ability to support a population.

11 of the 12 students enrolled in the Secretarial Training course I am helping with are Adivasi. Most of them just took their 12th grade exam, and are waiting to hear about the results. Their schools were in Gujarati-medium (meaning the language of instruction was Gujarati), so they all know Gujarati and Hindi. But they also know Marathi, the language of Maharashtra, the state just to the South of Gujarat, as well as Khokani, an Adivasi dialect of their region. All four of those languages are similar, but distinct, and it continues to impress me that they can move fluidly between each one.

Last week they taught me how to say “My name is David” in Khokani. It sounds like “Manha nau David aha”, whereas in Gujarati it is “Mara naam David che” and in Hindi, “Mera naam David hei”. You can see how they are all related, but still different.

The other AJWS volunteer, Abbie, has been teaching a spoken English course. There are 31 students in her class, which is quite a challenge considering the difference in English levels. All of the students in the Secretarial course have some foundation in English, but there are some in Spoken English who struggle to write the alphabet. I’ve been teaching those students (there are 6 of them) for about 90 minutes a day, which helps Abbie’s class run more smoothly and gives those 6 students more tailored instruction.

All 6 of them are girls who just took their 12th grade exam, and 5 want to become nurses. I asked them in Gujarati how it happened that they got this far without learning English, and the girls were quick to answer. “The teachers aren’t good in the government schools,” one said. “They just teach for the salary,” another added. “Most don’t know English, and don’t care to try.” Unfortunately, these are common complaints for students at government schools. But now that they’ve finished upper secondary school, they’ve reached a point where they need English to move forward, since English is required at all nursing schools here.

Anyway, it's been interesting to learn a bit about a group of people I hadn't really been exposed to before. It helps to provide additional perspective.