Need to support education of the migrants kids

CHENNAI: Twelve-year-old Tikku, son of a migrant from Orissa, has never been to school. He spends his mornings tagging along with his father, Madhusudan Roy, who works as a caretaker of a guest house in Kannathur. His father relocated to Chennai two years ago and is planning to shift again. The education of his son has been a casualty in the process. For children of migrant labourers in the city, the medium of instruction in schools also poses a problem.“It is difficult for me to send my son to the corporation school because he can’t speak or understand Tamil,” said Madhusudan on a wistful note.In the case of migrant families who seasonally flock to the interiors of Tamil Nadu-Thiruvallur and Kanchipuram, the story is no different.“Children of seasonal migrants who work in the State for only 4-6 months have to shift back and forth from their native place and as a result, their education is affected. They should be enrolled in residential schools so that there is no gap in their education,” said Rajagopalan, an RTE activist.Taking a similar stand Girija Kumarababu, Joint secretary of the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW), said that “innovative solutions” should be considered to address the problems faced by children, who migrate with their families.“Some of the children who are not attending school slowly begin to take up work at their parent’s workplace- in brick kilns or rice mills. We need to have a realistic approach to the issue and consider setting up temporary hostel facilities in their native villages, where the children can continue their schooling,” said Girija.“Lack of awareness about their rights is affecting the livelihood of seasonal migrants,” said Mr Bosgo, programme coordinator of Aide et Action, an international development organisation that is working for the rehabilitation of migrants’ children. He emphasised that local schools and NGOs need to work together to support the education of the migrant’s children using volunteers from other States, who speak their mother tongue.Aide et Action, with the support of the SSA, conducted 15 worksite schools from January to June this year for the children of brick kiln workers from Orissa, in their mother tongue.As a part of the programme, the volunteers are now helping the children enroll in mainstream schools in their native villages in Orissa.