Tamil Nadu

Hands that held sledgehammer now hold books

— PHOTO: MEERA SRINIVASAN

BACK ON TRACK: A group of children with their teacher M. Govindasamy at the NCLP centre in Dharmapuri.

DHARMAPURI: B. Murugan is about 14. Till a couple of years ago, he was working at construction sites, mixing cement and lifting bricks. He had to bear the burden, or his family could not have afforded a meal every day.

Now at the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) centre at Solaikottai in Dharmapuri, he is having a stab at a math problem, pointing his pen to his chin, smiling to himself. “I want to become a police officer,” he says.

Like him, 1,086 children who were once child labourers are being rehabilitated to mainstream schools in Dharmapuri district. However, mainstream schools in the district are struggling to handle the additional strength, since they don’t have enough teachers.

As soon as the rescue team of the NCLP identifies child labourers, members classify the children as those who never joined school, those who dropped out and those who went to school, but still cannot read or write.

Once admitted to one of the centres, the children spend 2-3 years there. “Depending on how much they know, they are trained in the fundamental aspects of language, math and science through a bridge course,” says N. Saravanan, Project Director, NCLP, in Dharmapuri. Currently, there are 32 such NCLP centres offering the bridge course aimed at helping the children adapt themselves to the school environment, once mainstreamed. Interested persons, who have completed Plus-Two, step in as teachers at these centres after training.

According to the data provided by the State child labour rehabilitation-cum-welfare society, the 2003 survey in Dharmapuri identified 10,125 child labourers. Of these, 6,622 were boys and 3,503, girls.

The NCLP, with the support of the UNICEF, the Collectorate and the School Education Department, has been working towards eradication of child labour in the district. A total of 5,914 children have been mainstreamed so far, say officials.

Despite the promising numbers, agencies involved in the NCLP have to constantly battle issues such as lack of awareness and, more importantly, the gross shortage of teachers in mainstream schools.

Mr. Saravanan acknowledges the challenges. “When we started out in 1996, we saw that this district is peculiar. Here, there is no industrial development or employment opportunity. Many were sending their children for work owing to acute poverty. It was not easy convincing them,” he recalls. After consistent efforts through campaigns, street plays and meetings, the NCLP team managed to mainstream 5,914 children. “We certainly have a long way to go,” says Mr. Sarvanan.

While at the centre, children get a monthly stipend of Rs. 100, besides books, notebooks, uniforms, snacks and lunch. After the bridge course at a centre, most children enrol in a mainstream school as a Std. IX student. “That way, they don’t feel they are too old for the class and are reasonably equipped to handle the syllabus,” he says.

But with nearly 350 teacher vacancies remaining, many schools are struggling to tackle the additional strength when the existing students themselves don’t have enough teachers. Addressing problems pertaining to school education becomes imperative in this district, where a host of other issues are to be addressed. “This district ails from low literacy, early marriage, high birth rate, broken families and very poor employment opportunities. And good education is the only common solution to these issues,” Mr. Saravanan points out.

Though the School Education Department is yet to address paucity of teachers, it has been lending support by way of giving children from the NCLP centres priority in hostel accommodation and providing them bus passes and uniforms.

M. Govindasamy, who teaches at the Solaikottai centre, says most children are those who toiled in construction sites, matchbox factories, road-laying projects and brick kilns.

“Each child comes with a very depressing story. It takes them some time to come out of their shell. After all, they were denied their basic right to education—and very childhood,” he says.

S. Mahalakshi at his centre is 13 years old. “I went to school till Std. IV and then had to work because it got very difficult at home. My father abandoned our family, and my mother’s income was not sufficient to support our family,” she says. Her brother, too, completed the bridge course here and is now in a government higher secondary school. “Annan got 389 in SSLC,” she says, beaming with pride. After joining this centre, she has been able to brush up her basic skills and is quite excited about that. “I want to become a teacher and tell everyone not to employ children like me.”

Meenakshi Umesh, principal of Puvidham Nursery and Primary School, says such children have to be handled with a lot of sensitivity. A few children from the NCLP centres are now at the school’s learning centre. “Besides denying them their right to go to school, child labour does a lot of physical and emotional damage to children. They need a lot of attention and love,” she points out.

Kavitha, one of her students, is barely 10. But her pierced nose and pensive expression make her seem a little older. But her lovable diction and bright smile instantly say how old she is. Once she was breaking stones at a quarry with a sledgehammer that she describes as “extremely heavy.” It accidentally fell on her leg. “Look, I injured my leg once. Then it hurt very badly. Now I’m fine,” she says, pointing to the big toe in the right leg.

She gets back to her work quickly and starts writing 1 to 10, gripping her red pencil with her tiny fingers.

Ask her what she wants to do in future, pat comes the reply. “I want to study till 100.”

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