Residential Bridge Course in Diphu, Karbi Anlong District of Assa, India.
Child Labour release and enrolment in RBC:
Sarba Siksha Abhijan, Assam in its bid to achieve the goal of Universalisation of Elementary Education has been facing its toughest hurdles in covering the child labours. The children engaged in work get embedded in a cobweb where the interest of the children is diluted and it appears that the parents and the employer has some common interests. The activist advocating the cause of education of the children is often presumed as an enemy of the interests of both the employer and the parents. In case of engagement of child labour the prevailing contract is in between the parents/wards of the children and the employer. The Child has no role in deciding the terms and conditions of their employment. The phenomenon of Child labour is a stark example of exploitation of the children by their employer as well as the parents/wards of the children.
As per the census report of 2001 Assam has 3,51, 416 child labourers of 5-14 years age group. The number in whole country counted to the tune of 1.26 crore as per that census.
SSA has taken two prong approach to bring the child labour into the fold of education . One by partial release of the children from works and enrolling them in non residential Alternative Schooling Centres like Sanjogi Siksha Kendra ( SSK) and Jyoti Kendra. The Siksha Karmi ( SK) of these centres plays a vital role in visiting the employer and trying to convince them to send the working children to SSK or Jyoti Kendra. The coaxing works only after sincere follow up of the first approach made by the SKs. A photocopy of a message from Deputy Commissioner of the district urging and warning the citizen to allow their child labour for enrolment in the centre become an important weapon for the SKs in the field. Awareness generation activities like street drama, distribution of leaflet organized during September , 2007 in collaboration with UNICEF in Guwahati helped the SKs of Jyoti Kendra in pushing the issues further among the common people. Initially reluctant employers also often finally give in after seeing fellow employer doing the same. But the conflict of works and learning time continues and often the SK faces the challenges of untimely dropping out of the children.
12484 working children have been so far covered by the Jyoti Kendras in different towns of Assam. Sanjogi Siksha Kendra so far covered 71,800 working children through its centres in rural areas.
Residential Bridge Course For Child Labour
The second approach that SSA has taken up has achieved limited coverage in terms of quantity but is more visible as a concrete step towards complete release of the child labour from works. SSA has been enrolling working children in its Residential Bridge Course (RBC) Centres since 2003. It is evident that a residential facility is sine qua non for a child labour rehabilitation programme . We just can not ask the children to leave the work and join the school. Simply it is not feasible. Most of the child labour comes across a large distance from their homes to work somewhere. Hence they need a shelter and free foods and other facilities for their immediate survival and joining in school. These facilities are being provided under 10 Residential Bridge Course centre in nine districts of Assam since 2003 onwards. Around 3500 child labourers so far have been enrolled in these 10 RBC Centres. 15 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas were opened in 2007 covering adolescent girls most of them are school drop outs and working else where.
Sarba Siksha Abhijan, Assam in its bid to achieve the goal of Universalisation of Elementary Education has been facing its toughest hurdles in covering the child labours. The children engaged in work get embedded in a cobweb where the interest of the children is diluted and it appears that the parents and the employer has some common interests. The activist advocating the cause of education of the children is often presumed as an enemy of the interests of both the employer and the parents. In case of engagement of child labour the prevailing contract is in between the parents/wards of the children and the employer. The Child has no role in deciding the terms and conditions of their employment. The phenomenon of Child labour is a stark example of exploitation of the children by their employer as well as the parents/wards of the children.
As per the census report of 2001 Assam has 3,51, 416 child labourers of 5-14 years age group. The number in whole country counted to the tune of 1.26 crore as per that census.
SSA has taken two prong approach to bring the child labour into the fold of education . One by partial release of the children from works and enrolling them in non residential Alternative Schooling Centres like Sanjogi Siksha Kendra ( SSK) and Jyoti Kendra. The Siksha Karmi ( SK) of these centres plays a vital role in visiting the employer and trying to convince them to send the working children to SSK or Jyoti Kendra. The coaxing works only after sincere follow up of the first approach made by the SKs. A photocopy of a message from Deputy Commissioner of the district urging and warning the citizen to allow their child labour for enrolment in the centre become an important weapon for the SKs in the field. Awareness generation activities like street drama, distribution of leaflet organized during September , 2007 in collaboration with UNICEF in Guwahati helped the SKs of Jyoti Kendra in pushing the issues further among the common people. Initially reluctant employers also often finally give in after seeing fellow employer doing the same. But the conflict of works and learning time continues and often the SK faces the challenges of untimely dropping out of the children.
12484 working children have been so far covered by the Jyoti Kendras in different towns of Assam. Sanjogi Siksha Kendra so far covered 71,800 working children through its centres in rural areas.
Residential Bridge Course For Child Labour
The second approach that SSA has taken up has achieved limited coverage in terms of quantity but is more visible as a concrete step towards complete release of the child labour from works. SSA has been enrolling working children in its Residential Bridge Course (RBC) Centres since 2003. It is evident that a residential facility is sine qua non for a child labour rehabilitation programme . We just can not ask the children to leave the work and join the school. Simply it is not feasible. Most of the child labour comes across a large distance from their homes to work somewhere. Hence they need a shelter and free foods and other facilities for their immediate survival and joining in school. These facilities are being provided under 10 Residential Bridge Course centre in nine districts of Assam since 2003 onwards. Around 3500 child labourers so far have been enrolled in these 10 RBC Centres. 15 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas were opened in 2007 covering adolescent girls most of them are school drop outs and working else where.
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ReplyDeleteK Kalita
Guwahati