Tamil Nadu: As education goes online following the pandemic, the students belonging to the Kani tribal community struggle to keep up with their education. Ramya, an undergraduate student lives in Servalaru hamlet inside Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghats in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. She is pursuing BA from Thiruvalluvar College of MS University in Tirunelveli.
Amid the covid induced lockdown, she takes a 16-km long journey to attend online exams as her village is not connected to the cellular network. Her father and brother accompany her on the dangerous route and she has no option.
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"Our village doesn't have a cell phone network. So I can't attend online classes. We are requesting the government to install cell phone towers but it says they harm the animals in the forest. Bringing mobile connectivity to the village is my goal," she said.
Not only Ramya but many students like her are left out in online education. Kani tribals traditionally extract honey from beehives in the forest. They lived a peaceful life in the hills of Western Ghats until modern society flushed them out of their native places and they settled in four different places - Papanasam, Servalaru, Manimutharu and Injikuzhi in Tirunelveli district. Now they struggle for their basic needs and livelihood.
Kani tribal village in Servalaru has only a middle school. Students have to travel long distances to continue schooling, even longer to do higher studies. Ramya's father Amalraj says he and his son are sacrificing their work to provide education to her. "Our children are struggling to get online education.
He alleges that the forest officials are not allowing them to extract honey or renovate their homes. "So we're living in a terrible condition. He also said due to the threat from wild animals, farming is also ruled out in the area.
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