Tamil Nadu - Erode   

Rescued child labourers get a new lease of life

Staff Reporter

Free education, food and clothes provided for students

ERODE: From an economically weak family, and with parents who are labourers, she was forced to collect wastepaper from roads. But not anymore. Seven-year-old Nathiya of Periyarnagar slum is happy and now working hard on her lessons. She wants to be a doctor some day. "I want to treat those in my slum," she says. She was one of the child labourers rescued by the district administration and admitted in the special school for such children in Periyarnagar, run by the National Child labour Programme.

Her parents have assured to send her to school regularly and not force her to work.

Collector D. Karthikeyan, also Chairman of the programme, said 28 such schools were formed in the district and each school had at least 10 children. The children were provided with free education, food and clothes, and their parents an incentive of Rs. 100 every month.

The Centre had given Rs. 36,88,600 to run the special schools. A survey conducted under Education For All revealed that there were 2,299 child labourers in the district. Before 2007 all these children would be rescued and the district declared child labour-free, he said.

Vocational training

Every school would have up to 50 children under two teachers who would provide vocational training. A rally to create awareness on child labour was conducted in the district from June 10 to 20.

A team of officials from Education, Labour and Local Administration departments threw light on the evils of child labour at all the 20 panchayat unions. Any industry or firm or workshop employing children below the age of 14 would be prosecuted, the Collector said.

He received information that a few companies had relieved child labourers, around 50 of whom had joined regular schools. Though in many cases parents themselves sent their wards to work, the situation was slowly changing, he said.

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