VELLORE: Chitra, an 18-year-old student at the Peenjamandhai High School dropped out four years ago while completing her 8th standard and worked in a yarn mill in Coimbatore. She has now continued her education after a long gap.
Another 13-year-old-girl was back at school after a two months gap. She went to work in a cinnamon field in Nagercoil with her family. The palms of the child were full of thorn bruises. But this is a common issue in the region, some girls return to school after work and few others get married.
Around 25,000 people live in 68 villages under Peenjamandhai, Palambattu and Jarthankollai village panchayats in the Jawadhu hill at the Anaicut Taluk of Vellore district.
Student dropouts, child marriage and child labour are exceptionally high in these villages, Peenjamandhai high school teacher S Ramachandran told TNIE.
“Many students were married at the age of 12-13 years after attaining puberty. Once a young mother came to talk to me and then I realised that she was my student. I was shocked,” he added.
One type of child labour is a group of boys venturing out to a place, working a few months and returning with a decent sum. Another case is where the family members themselves take their children along. The children will work along with taking care of the food and other needs of the family.
Financial hardships push the tribals to go for labour work in Salem, Coimbatore, Karnataka, Kerala among other places as they don’t have a livelihood here. Mostly, they work as woodcutters and agri labourers for a meagre wage.
The major reason for taking the children with them is the lack of safe accommodation for the children, especially for girls, said a resident.
The region has five Adi Dravidar residential schools, but locals allege that none are functioning properly. Some of the wardens and teachers visit the hostels once in ten days, they added.
“Sometimes we request the teachers to visit the schools at least thrice in a week but they’re reluctant,” alleged Srinivasan of Tamil Nadu Scheduled Tribe Malayali Forum.
TNIE visited a few Adi Dravidar residential schools and hostels and witnessed the absence of staff. Few lacked basic facilities such as beds and pillows and students slept in the classrooms filled with construction debris.
“The girls meet boys of the same community in the workplace. Most of them got interested and married at a very young age. The boys who earn didn’t have the interest in studies after earning,” said M Gopi, headmaster of the Peenjamandhai High School.
It is due to the efforts of teachers like M Gopi, S Ramachandran and Duraisamy that enrolment in schools is picking up. They spend from their pocket for the transport of the children from various remote tribal hamlets. But, schools here lack classrooms, toilets and other basic facilities. Most of the schools here are understaffed.
The lack of a noon-meal scheme also poses a threat to the schooling and nourishment of the ST girls. Out of the 13 government schools in this region, there are just three noon-meal centers, forcing students to go empty stomachs.
Only if the Adi Dravidar residential schools are maintained properly the issue of child labour and child marriages will reduce, opines Shankar, a child labour activist from the region. He's been working with the community for the last 20 years.
Collector Kumaravel Pandiyan could not be reached for comments. The Government will create awareness about child marriages and child labour, Anaicut MLA AP Nandhakumar responded to TNIE’s query.