School set up by UNDP becomes model for child labour rehabilitation

By Our Staff Reporter

KURNOOL, JULY 25. Bhavita, the child labour school at Orvakal set up by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has become a model for child labour rehabilitation. In its latest achievement, 40 inmates of the institution got seats in residential schools in the district.

Earlier, 60 of them secured seats in social welfare residential schools. A total of 80 students secured seats in the residential stream this year since some got seats in both institutions.

The present crop of students were drawn from cotton fields and from households who were working as maid servants two years ago. After two and half years' instruction by committed teachers in a proper environment, the children had done extremely well in the competitive examination. Inspired by the success of the first two batches, the management of the institution has started similar schools at Gadivemula and Panyam from this academic year with a provision for 100 students at each place. The strength in the main institution reached 400, most of them girls. Only orphaned boys were provided accommodation in the school.

The institution spends Rs 500 per month on each child for education and accommodation, which works out to Rs 3 lakhs per month for 600 students. Ms. Vijaya Bharathi, Project Officer, said resources were mobilised from various sources. An international donor agency, AUSIAD, was giving Rs 1 lakh per month, while the National Child Labour Project was giving Rs 36,000 per month. A part of the interest on the corpus fund of the women's groups was also donated to the school. Of late, the Social Welfare Department sanctioned a hostel for Bhavita to accommodate the students who failed to secure seats in the residential stream but pursued their education in the local school at Orvakal. Ms. Vijaya Bharathi said the hostel would appoint tutors to guide students after school hours.

The District Primary Education Programme also collaborated with Bhavita for achieving universalisation of primary education in select mandals. Bhavita was given freedom to chalk out its own courses and content. As a pilot project, Bhavita conducted a survey in Meedivemula of Orvakal mandal, one of the backward villages. The agency detected 116 children below 14 years of age, who were not going to school. It noted that 48 children were working in cotton fields for daily wages of Rs 20 each. They had to walk 12 km, the distance between the fields and the village. Children were exposed to pesticides and pollen causing serious health problems. The survey team found that 20 children did not attend schools due to domestic problems.

In one case, a girl's father was undergoing life imprisonment for faction crime, while the mother was sick. The child was the sole bread winner of the family. Under no circumstances was it was possible for the family to spare the child for education. Another girl lost her mother and the father lost a limb in an accident. An eight-year-old was withdrawn from school to cook food for the father and other members of the family after her mother died. A girl told the team that she was being employed as a baby-sitter by her family. Whenever a close relative delivered, she was sent to take care of the baby. She nursed three babies so far. Ten boys were engaged by shepherd families to tend sheep. Also, 15 girls who passed seventh standard had to drop out as their parents were reluctant to send them to schools in distant places. Bhavita is planning to admit them to its hostel and give coaching for SSC privately.

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