Tamil Nadu   

Bringing them back into the regular stream of education

PUDUKOTTAI: With the winding up of the Child Labour Effective Elimination and Rehabilitation Scheme (CHEERS) in Pudukottai district a few years ago, a service organisation has come forward to offer support to the children relieved of child labour, for ensuring their academic career without any break.

Focussing on the educational career of former child labourers of Annavasal and Viralimalai blocks, where a large number of stone quarries were located, the Grama Seva Sangam has identified 79 ex-child labourers who have been brought under the mainstream education.

The first batch comprises 29 children who had lost either their mother or father. They draw special attention as the Sangam meets the expenditure for their health-care programme, uniforms and educational fees. “Children relieved from the clutches of child labour need a continuous monitoring in the form of welfare measures to pursue their education. Otherwise, they turn drop-outs,” says the Director of the Sangam, M.R. Palanichamy.

After the CHEERS scheme was wound up in the district in 2004, Mr. Palanichamy noticed that the economic backwardness proved to be a bottleneck for many children in pursuing their education. As many children turned drop-outs only to become labourers at the quarries, he started offering non-formal education to them in the evening for a period of three years, facilitating them to work at the quarries in the day. They have been now enrolled into the main stream of education in middle or high schools.

“The second batch comprised 50 students belonging to these economically weaker sections. Each of them will get free note-books, uniforms and other assistance for a period of five years,” says the Advisor of the Sangam, P. Karunakaran.

The Sangam has been imparting non-formal education to another 241 children at about 25 villages in these blocks, Mr. Palanichamy said.

A function was held at Malaikudipatti village near Iluppur recently when the children got the assistances. The Assistant Elementary Education Officers P. Sethuraman and R. Kalidas were among those who offered felicitations.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

“Nutrition, education vital”
Bringing them back into the regular stream of education
Overcast...
Weavers strike work
Cashew badly affected
Powerloom weavers continue strike
Ponmudy hospitalised
Accreditation process for distance education programme
Flood relief works in full swing, says Stalin
Acquire soft skills, graduates told
Lorry with pulse consignment gutted
Marching ahead
1,070 hectare crop damaged
Officials submit report on damage to crops
Class XII CBSE mathematics paper throws up quite a challenge
“Cancel deputation order”
A childhood dream fulfilled
Public hearing on PDS in North Chennai conducted
Fourth volume on Srirangam temple released
Panic after bursting of television sets
Sammelan urges Government to modernise Arasu Cements at Ariyalur
Final warning issued
Women empowerment brings social change in many Palani villages
“Education moulds character”
DMK’s gesture to a Palayamkottai orphan
Heavy rain continues in Kanyakumari
Painting exhibition by Jayasirpi
Camp
Constable killed
What they say
When in need
Pulse consignment destroyed as lorry catches fire
Automatic ticket vending machines at all suburban stations soon
Leaders’ appeal to Eraiyur residents
Common facility centres will help in marketing powerloom products
Newborns screened for disabilities
Street play staged to create awareness of TB
Bhommikuppam residents want local body chief to quit
Experts and farmers welcome barrage across the Cauvery
Paddy, inter-crops hit on several thousands of acres
Two students drown in lake
Booksellers thank government
Railway employee receives gunshot wounds
Huge haul of pirated CDs
Karunanidhi refutes Jayalalithaa’s charge on compensation
“DMDK to continue constructive work”
More bus services for Karapattu sought
Veeramani admitted to hospital
Rain damages 1,300 acres in Theni
Sarathkumar unveils party policies
Shandies
Lights not burning

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu