Former child labourer aces SSLC with 456 marks
Amidst all other students,who came colourfully in the SSLC exams, the remarkable is Saranya, as the girl is a rehabilitated child labourer and daughter of a tea master. Moreover, she is the first candidate to complete SSLC in the generation of her family. Being a student of GHSS, Chennanur,she has scored 456 marks out of 500. However,she is happy that she has been able to continue her studies after being rescued from a tea shop, where she was a child labourer.
Unlike many other students, who wish to become doctors and engineers, Saranya wants to serve the society by becoming a teacher in future. “ I want to become a teacher like Ms Jayasudha,my science teacher, who helped me a lot to score high marks in the public exams” said a thankful Saranya.
Hailing from an economically poor family,the girl studied regularly at the cost of her sleep. She used to assist her father in his tea shop by washing glass tumblers soon after coming home from school.
“ I studied regularly from 10 pm to 1 am and updated my lessons “ said Saranya.
She has scored 94 marks in Tamil, 77 in English, 90 in Mathematics, 97 in Science and 98 marks in Social Science. She has bagged the second rank in her school.
Her father Serumathurai worried that he could not even buy necessary stationery for his daughter, as he struggled to meet both ends meet with his meager income from the tea shop.
Saranya’s family came here from Sathankulam in Nagapattinam after Tsunami waves ravaged the coastal town in 2004.
A few years ago, officials of National Child Labour Project rescued Saranya, who was working as a child labourer in a tea shop. The officials later admitted her in the special school run by NCLP before enrolling her in the Government Higher Secondary School, Chennanur. Vijayakumar,Director,NCLP said that the TN government will provide Saranya a stipend of ` 500 per month for the next two years. CHILD: Saranya,daughter of a tea master and a rehabilitated child labourer,has scored 456 marks in SSLC.