The Educational Struggle of Himalayan Nomadic Children

When Schools Cannot Follow the Child

Tufail Choudhary and Mondira Dutta

As India moves towards Viksit Bharat@2047, the promise of inclusive and equitable education must reach every child, including those living in the country's remote Himalayan regions. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasises universal access, equity and reducing school dropouts. Yet, for nomadic communities such as the Gujjars and Bakarwals, translating this promise into reality requires a fundamental rethink of how schooling is delivered. The problem is simple but profound: schools are fixed, but nomadic children are not. For generations, Gujjar and Bakarwal families have followed seasonal migration routes between winter settlements and high-altitude summer pastures. With the melting of snow, families move with their livestock and belongings, often travelling over difficult terrain and through harsh weather. For the education system, however, this mobility presents a major challenge. The ICSSR-sponsored study, Problems of Education among the Nomadic Communities, brings this contradiction sharply into focus. The experience of Doogi Marg in Shopian, Kashmir, is particularly revealing. Every summer, Gujjar families establish their temporary Dhoks and Dharas in the high-altitude meadows. Once there, however, children find themselves virtually outside the formal education system. Doogi Marg has no proper road connectivity, regular electricity or water supply, health facility or permanent school. For almost half the year, children remain beyond the effective reach of formal education. The remoteness that gives the landscape its extraordinary beauty also creates an educational isolation that has persisted across generations.

A field visit provided a deeply disturbing picture. Around 50-60 children had gathered with their teachers and waited for hours to meet the visiting team, despite having little access to food, water and adequate protection from the severe cold. Their difficult circumstances reflected on their faces and clothing. These were not merely statistics on enrolment or dropout; they were children physically standing at the margins of India's education system. The problem also affects teachers. The few teachers serving these communities reportedly received around ?10,000 a month and, according to the field findings, only for four months of the year, with payments being irregular. One teacher explained that after spending months encouraging children to attend school, he had to seek daily-wage work during the remaining months. Such discontinuity affects both teacher motivation and children's confidence in education. Community representatives highlighted connectivity as one of the most pressing problems. The absence of mobile towers, roads and health facilities makes emergencies particularly dangerous. The community also faces difficulties in taking wool and other products to markets. Education, therefore, cannot be separated from infrastructure, health, livelihoods and access to Government schemes.

Education Must Move with the Child

The central lesson from Doogi Marg is that educational inclusion cannot simply mean building a school at a fixed location. For nomadic communities, education must be flexible, mobile and responsive to seasonal migration. NEP 2020's concept of Special Education Zones provides an important starting point. But for nomadic populations, this approach needs to move from a fixed geographical model towards a route-based and mobile framework. Established migration corridors could become educational corridors, with temporary learning centres, mobile schools and seasonal education camps at strategic locations. Such centres need not replicate the entire formal school system. They could provide foundational literacy and numeracy, bridge courses and continuity with the child's regular school. The objective should be clear - education should move with the child rather than requiring the child to abandon mobility to access education. Residential facilities can provide another option, particularly for older children requiring secondary and senior secondary education. However, these must be culturally sensitive and should not force nomadic communities to abandon their livelihoods or unnecessarily separate children from their families.

Language, Technology and Teachers Matter

Language can become another barrier when children enter schools where the medium of instruction differs substantially from their home language. NEP 2020's emphasis on multilingualism provides an opportunity to recognise local languages, oral traditions, indigenous knowledge and community histories. Digital technology could provide continuity during migration through offline educational resources, downloadable lessons, mobile learning platforms and community digital centres. But technology cannot substitute for electricity, connectivity, devices and digital literacy. Without these, digitalisation may reproduce rather than reduce educational inequalities. Teachers working in these difficult environments need specialised preparation in multilingual education, interrupted schooling, multi-grade teaching, seasonal migration and indigenous knowledge. Appropriate incentives, accommodation, hardship allowances and professional support are essential for attracting and retaining teachers in remote locations.

A Girl Child Faces Double Disadvantage

Within already disadvantaged nomadic communities, girls face an additional burden. They help herd animals, fetch water, care for younger siblings and contribute to household responsibilities. When families have to choose which child remains in school, the daughter is often the one who loses out. Harsh terrain, lack of roads, difficult weather, absence of permanent addresses and inadequate educational facilities compound the problem. The challenge is therefore not merely increasing enrolment but ensuring continuity, safety, dignity and quality.

Making Education Portable

One important reform is the portability of educational entitlements. When nomadic families move across villages or districts, a child's educational record should not remain tied to one location. School records, scholarships, textbooks, uniforms, nutritional entitlements and other benefits should travel with the child. The guiding principle should be simple - the child's right to education must move with the child. Temporary school sheds made from easily assembled and dismantled materials could be established at identified points along migration routes, with GIS helping identify suitable locations. Mobile schools and seasonal learning centres require effective coordination. Community representation should also be strengthened, while livelihood programmes can help transform wool and other traditional products into value-added goods linked to wider markets. The children of Doogi Marg pose a larger question to India, 'What does inclusive education really mean'? If education reaches only those who can reach a school, universal education remains incomplete. The true test of NEP 2020 is whether it can reach children whom geography, mobility and marginalisation keep beyond the school gate. Viksit Bharat@2047 cannot be built by leaving Himalayan nomadic children behind. India must ensure that the journey towards development includes every child and that, for children who move, education moves with them.

(Mondira Dutta is a former Professor of Geography in JNU, and Tufail Choudhary is Assistant Professor GDC Gandhi Nagar, Jammu)