Chennai, Jan 1 (IANS): At least 80 tribal students in Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur district stopped going to school after they were allegedly insulted and mocked by their classmates.

The students belong to the Narikkurava community. According to an officer with the District Education department, they were mocked regularly by other students for their peculiar diction as well as mannerisms and this led to the students opting out of the school.

According to the Thanjavur district officials, the students were identified after a survey was carried out in the district with the support of Anganwadi staff, police, childline, the Integrated School Education department, and Block Resource Teachers.

The team in a detailed study on the dropouts in the district found that 1,700 students had dropped out of school in the last academic year. The team could identify that 80 students from the Narikurava community had stopped coming to the school.

The teachers could find that the students were from Mela Ulloor Village in a Narikkuruva settlement and they were studying in the primary section.

The students had to travel through forest and cross water streams and brave wild animals to reach the school, but with their fellow students insulting and rebuking them they stopped going to school.

Sources in the Thanjavur district administration told IANS that the district authorities are planning to set up a school in their habitat.

According to the information available, there was a school in the vicinity of their habitat but it was shut down during Covid-19 pandemic and the authorities are now trying to revive this school so that the students get a proper education.