{
  "id": 18325421,
  "title": "Appointment process for tribal mentor-teachers going at a slow pace in Keralam",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/appointment-process-for-tribal-mentor-teachers-going-at-a-slow-pace",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-05T15:11:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/appointment-process-for-tribal-mentor-teachers-going-at-a-slow-pace-in-keralam/article71670207.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The appointment process for Gothrabandhu mentor-teachers to serve ultra-marginalized tribal students in Kerala has been moving slowly, raising concerns among social activists. The Gothrabandhu project, introduced in the 2017-18 academic year, aims to reduce dropout rates and enhance the quality of education for tribal students. The affected communities include Adiya, Paniya, Kattunayakan, Urali, and Cholanaykkan. However, the appointment process hit a snag after the High Court stayed the process following a petition from ex-mentor-teachers who objected to the discontinuation of their annual job contracts and the initiation of a new recruitment drive.\n\nAccording to M. Geethanandan of the Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha, the government advertised 326 mentor-teacher vacancies for lower primary classes in Wayanad, Palakkad, and Malappuram. Of these, 241 posts were allocated to Wayanad, specifically for Paniya students. Nonetheless, 167 of these positions were awarded to members of the Kurchiya and Kuruma communities, who have no cultural or linguistic connection to the Paniya students. This has occurred at a time when many skilled tribal youth, holding TTC, D.El.Ed., and B.Ed. degrees, are unemployed or employed in plantation labor.\n\nThe situation has led to a wave of student dropouts, exacerbated by socio-economic challenges. The Department of Scheduled Tribes Development has forwarded the rank list of shortlisted candidates for Wayanad to the Deputy Director of Education's office. Of the 241 posts in Wayanad, 167 are earmarked for Paniya community members. While K. Mary Lydia, coordinator of Adi Shakthi Summer School, believes that appointing a large number of Paniya mentor-teachers could be a game-changer for the community's educational progress, she fears that the perceived delay could exacerbate student dropout rates.",
  "summary": "Social activists are concerned if the delay will aggravate the dropping out of students from these communities.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}