One of the biggest challenges faced by the Indian education system in the last several decades since Independence has been expansion without a simultaneous assurance of equity in educational opportunity or quality of education. While the passage of the Right to Education Act, 2009 (RTE) has, at least in principle, sought to guarantee equal opportunity, learning levels and outcomes continue to remain poor for several children, especially those from the most marginalised communities. This is particularly true for children from tribal communities affected by multiple disadvantages of economic, social, cultural and geographical nature. Tribal populations continue to have one of the lowest enrolments and retention rates as well as learning outcomes in the country, despite more than half a century of interventions to improve their educational status. It is within this context that the present study 'Reviewing the status of education in tribal districts of Maharashtra', commissioned by the UNICEF, and undertaken by the Centre for Budget and Policy Studies (CBPS), Bangalore, unfolds. The main objectives of the study are: i. to analyse the status of school education among tribal populations and review policies and programmes related to the education of tribal children in Maharashtra ii. to understand the status of educational attainment and factors that contribute, or act as barriers, to higher educational attainment (retention, learning outcomes and completion of courses of study) of tribal children in districts with high concentrations of tribal populations.