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Children of Migrant Workers: A Case of Reassuring Education and Childhood |
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Abstract |
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Migration continues to remain a major livelihood option of many poor families in the highly drought prone districts of Western Orissa. The exploitative and sometimes bonded labour in the brick kilns of Andhra Pradesh and other states form part of the major portfolio of the meagre annual income of migrant workers. This survival strategy has not only risked the basic education of children who migrate with their parents every year for six to eight months, but also results in them getting exploited as child labourers in the brick kilns. Western Orissa Education Watch (WOEW), a forum of eight NGOs working in five districts of Western Orissa have taken up a programme to ensure the reach of primary education to all children in the age group of 6-14 years. This document narrates the efforts of two of its partners - AJKA and Kalyaan - in reassuring education and childhood to 261 children of migrant workers in the first year of its operation. |
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The drought prone region of Western Orissa is known for large scale migration of poor people in search of livelihoods. Six to eight months a year are spent outside villages usually in the brick kilns of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh. Scores of villages in the region have nearly 40% of the houses locked during November to June every year. They return once the monsoon starts not so much due to the agricultural opportunities back home but due to the declining work in the brick kilns. Almost 90% of those who migrate are from scheduled castes and tribes. More than 50% of them do not own any agricultural land. The much touted National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has changed the situation of migrants only marginally. The assured 100 days of work per year has not been ensured and the payment for work done under the scheme is pending for more than six months.
The four to six months spent in their villages tending their land or labouring in other’s hardly provides livelihood security forcing them to borrow from money lender-contractor, who in turn ensure that the brick kilns are not starved of workers in the next season by advancing lump-sum amounts to them. The pull of the contractors and the push of the unemployment situation in the villages forces them to migrate in spite of attempts by government and non government organisations to prevent migration and ensure livelihood security. |
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Caught in the net |
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The children of migrant workers are the silent sufferers. Caught in the cycle of splitting their lives for equal periods in two different locations each year, children of school-going age are deprived of their rights to education. In addition they turn as child labourers in the harsh working conditions of brick kilns. While a fraction of boy children are left in the care of grand parents or other relatives to continue their education in the villages, girl children invariably migrate along with parents either to take care of younger siblings or for biological and social security concerns. Most parents are aware of the advantages of ensuring education to their wards including girls, but the existing conditions do not permit them to do so. |
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Western Orissa Education Watch (WOEW) |
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WOEW is a cluster programme that seeks to ensure that all children in the age group 6-14 years attend school on a regular basis and receive quality education. The initiative started in December 2007 with financial support from Edukans Foundation of the Netherlands and technical advice from Development Focus, Bangalore. |
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AJKA & Kalyaan |
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Agranee Jana Kalyan Anusthan (AJKA) and Kalyaan are two of the partners of WOEW operating in the districts of Bargadh and Bolangir. They realized that their efforts are benefiting children who are present in the villages but not those who migrate along with their parents.
AJKA worked with local institutions and communities to retain children with grand parents or other relatives within the village during the period of migration while Kalyaan ensured that the community based residential care centres (CMRCC) are made more effective. |
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Community Based Living |
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Jharband block in Bargadh district witnessed recurrent droughts over the last few years leading to migration of families every year. Through the years, families have established contacts with the brick kilns of Hyderabad, Ayodhya, and Raipur through the contractors. After the agriculture operations come to an end in October/November each year, families start moving to these places depending on which contractor has advanced them loans. Usually the entire family migrates even if the children are enrolled and attending schools. Such children who migrate are absent in the school for six to eight months. They are most likely to discontinue their education, even though the education department has issued standing instructions to the school authorities to consider migrants’ children for the final examination and promote them if they meet minimum standards. On the other hand, there are hardly any facilities for children to continue their studies in the place where they have migrated. Very often children engaged in manual labour.
Though poor parents are aware of the long term advantages of educating their children, they continue to face the challenge of prioritizing between education and survival.
Bhanden Juari is one of the villages where the intervention to retain children in schools started in the beginning of 2008. Education Watch Committee (EWC) of the village comprising of school teachers, representatives of various local institutions and children made it a point that no child in the school going age should be deprived of education.
During the meetings of the Education Watch Committee, a solution to the educational plight of children of migrant workers became a priority issue. The committee resolved that it would motivate parents to leave school going children back in the village either with grand parents or other non migrant relatives. Motivating relatives to keep children for half a year is a challenge considering their own economic situation, which is not very good.
The migrant parents are hardly able to compensate for this facility on their return. The EWC took up the matter in several community meetings as well as in their discussions with parents of migrant children and their relatives. The community as a whole was supportive of the idea as it was not entirely new to them. Both parents and relatives have decided to stretch themselves and make this possible.
EWC’s intervention this season has helped to retain 28 children in Bhandenjuary, 13 of them girls. |
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Case Study 1 |
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Twelve year old Rukuni Baria studies in standard 6 in Bhandar Juri primary school though her parents have migrated two months ago. Last two years she went with them and worked in the brick kilns throughout the season. She is so happy that she can attend school and work the whole day under the hot sun. She stays with her grandfather in the village and attends school regularly. |
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Case Study 2 |
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Anil Deep is 11 years old and stays with his grand parents. This fifth standard student misses his family very much but care and support by the community sustains him. Other children interact with him and he is involved in games and extracurricular activities. He is learning to cope without his immediate family for a few months.
Although additional burden, his grand parents don’t mind as Anil can attend school.
AJKA works in Goathuguda and Bilashpur Gram panchayats in Paikmal block of Bargadh district. 92 children have been retained in school during the current season in 5 villages. 42% of the retained children are girls. |
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Community Managed Residential Care Centres (CMRCC) |
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Khaprakhol is one of the most backward, and migration prone blocks of Bolangir district. Baduden is a village in the block with 192 households. 58 families from this village regularly migrate to Hyderabad and Barhampur to work in the brick kilns from November to June each year. They are from scheduled caste and tribe background. This regular movement of families results in disruption of children’s education.
The EWC of the village got involved and desired to change this situation. After several meetings with parents and local authorities, the EWC got to know of a scheme under the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP), where residential care centres can be established if 30 or more children of migrant workers can be identified in a village. EWC explained this scheme to parents and stakeholders in the village. |
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They started motivating migrant parents to leave school going children in the proposed Residential Care Centre. Simultaneously, the committee prepared a list of children whose parents migrate regularly and submitted an application to DPEP. It took a whole year for EWC to convince different officials of the need for an RCC in their village. The government finally sanctioned the centre, which was formally opened on 4th December 2008. |
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As of now 30 children of Baduden live and study in their own village with a fulltime lady care taker. Thanks to the RCC these children can continue school although their houses are locked and parents have migrated. The community leaders and young volunteers of the village spare their time to provide moral support to the children during holidays and non school hours.
The children club of the village have played a proactive role in engaging the children of migrant workers at the RCC so that they did not miss their parents and other family members much. |
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Case Study 3 |
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Rinki Bariha is 9 years old and studies in standard 3 at Barbuden primary school. Her twin brothers Laba and Kusha aged 7 are in standard 2. Last year this time they were in a brick kiln near Hyderabad. This year, the three children along with thirty others of Barbuden have stayed back in the Residential Care Centre.
Rinki says that she and her brothers miss their parents. However they are happy to be in the RCC to continue their education. She says that the teachers and volunteers keep them cheerful in the centre and for any assistance her uncles’ family who did not migrate is always there to help. |
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Eleven year old Jyothi Kumbar is an active member of the children’s club of Barbuden.
She was admitted at the RCC since her parents migrated. This standard 5 girl says that she rarely has time to think of her family as she is fully engaged in studies, play and many co-curricular activities. After school hours are spent in learning to sing, dance, draw etc. She does not feel the absence of her family. She has not even visited her locked house during her one and a half months stay at the RCC, although it is only 50 metres from the RCC.
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Endnote |
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AJKA and Kalyan have used two different strategies to retain children of migrant parents continue their education.
In the very first year the two organisations together have retained 261 children of migrant workers in ten villages to ensure their uninterrupted attendance in schools. The support of teachers, volunteers and the local institutions has ensured that the children are provided quality education along with opportunities to enjoy their childhood. |
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