It's time to ACT to stop Factory Schools: Please email India's Minister of Tribal Affairs today

Details: Published on Tuesday, 10 December 2019 08:08; Written by editor

You can help us stop the horrific abuse happening RIGHT NOW You can help us stop this horrific abuse

Jyotsna, mother of one of the 17 girls raped at a Factory School in India Dear friend,

We need your help. Will you email India's Minister of Tribal Affairs to protest the brutal schooling system that's destroying indigenous communities?

Right now, one million tribal children in India are being “educated” in Factory Schools – schools that “reprogram” tribal and indigenous children to fit the dominant society.

In these schools they’re taught to feel ashamed of who they are and where they come from. Frightening numbers are subjected to neglect and abuse: almost 1,500 children have died in such schools in the state of Maharashtra alone.

Recently, at least 17 girls were repeatedly drugged and raped in a Factory School in Maharashtra. None of the senior figures at the school have been arrested. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. An inquiry found that the residential schooling system for indigenous children in Canada constituted cultural genocide.

But in India, more Factory Schools are being built today, including residential schools where children see their families just once a year.

Tribal and indigenous peoples' education must be under their control. It must be rooted in the people's own land, language and culture, and give children both a sound education and – vitally – pride in themselves and their people.

Please write to the Minister of Tribal Affairs to tell him so.

Thank you for your support,

Stephen Corry
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Subject: Please stop Factory Schools

Dear Minister,

I call on you to stop the expansion of residential schooling for tribal children in India. These schools aim to reprogram them to "fit the mainstream" rather than respect their culture and identity.

Please launch an inquiry into the alarming levels of abuse in schools and hostels for tribal children and ensure that all those responsible, including senior officials, are brought to justice.

For the sake of the tribal children of today, and the tribal peoples of tomorrow, please invest instead in local schooling that is respectful of tribal languages, cultures and ways of life and is under the control of the communities concerned, as enshrined in the Constitution.

Yours sincerely,

Forward P.S. Unlike many NGOs, we reject government funding so our integrity is never compromised. We rely entirely on your donations to keep fighting for tribal peoples worldwide. Please donate today. Without you, there can be no Survival.
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