EDUCATIONAL GRIEVANCES 431
- It is, however, necessary in the first place to get the Board interested in the educational problem of special classes like the Scheduled Castes. This can be done only by giving representation to members of the Scheduled Castes on the Board. It is therefore suggested that two representatives of the Scheduled Castes should be nominated on the board.
VI. Want of Facilities for Technical Training Technical Education
From the point of raising the economic condition, technical education for the Scheduled Castes is more important than literary education. But technical education is also very costly and it is not possible for children of the Scheduled Castes to take technical education, and without technical education their economic condition will not be improved. Owing to the social system of the Hindus, the Scheduled Castes occupy economically a very low place in the Indian economy. In times of prosperity he is last to be employed, and in times of depression he is first to be discharged. This, of course, is a result of the social prejudices of the Hindus which operate against him. But there is also the other difficulty which stands in his way and that is he is generally an unskilled labourer with no technical knowledge.
It seems to me that the Government of India can do a great deal to improve his lot by enabling him to acquire technical skill which he does not now possess and this can be easily done by introducing a system of apprenticeship for the Scheduled Caste boys in undertakings run or controlled by the Government of India, in which the possibilities of giving such technical training do exist.
I am referring only to two :—
(1) Apprenticeships in Government Printing Presses :
There are a number of Printing Presses which are maintained by the Government of India. There are so many skilled occupations which are open to persons trained in a printing press—compositors, printers, binders, etc. There is no reason why the Government of India should not have a scheme whereby suitable boys from the Scheduled Castes should be taken as apprentices to learn the various occupations which are related to the printing trade.