Rajiv Vidya Mission (RVM) officials have decided to open makeshift schools for the children working in the chilli fields in Guntur district.Parents and contractors have been warned that criminal cases would be charged against them if they continue to engage the children in chilli picking work even after the schools are opened.
In response to a report carried in these columns,RVM project director D Chaitanya convened an urgent meeting with non-governmental organizations and discussed the child labour issue.He visited the chilli fields in Tadikonda and Pedakurapadu mandals to take a first-hand account of the child labourers working in the farms on Tuesday.
We tried our best to convince the parents to send their children back to their native villages so that they could continue their studies.But,a majority of the parents are not willing to send them back home.So,we have decided to open special schools to help children continue with their education, Chaitanya told TOI.
He said the special schools would be managed by local NGOs.Initially,a temporary school would be set up close to the chilli fields where the migrant workers pick chillies.A vidya volunteer would be employed by the NGO to whom RVM would pay Rs 4,000 per month.Since all the schools are run temporarily,it would not be a problem for the NGO to manage them, a senior RVM official said.
Books and study material would be provided to the children enabling them to continue with their studies which they lost due to migration from places like Anantapur,Kurnool and Prakasam.Deputy commissioner (labour ) Shaik Eusuf said that a special drive would be launched in the agriculture fields in a day or two to convince the parents.
The RVM PD said large scale migration of children was found at Bandarupalle,Ravela,Tadikonda,Ponnekallu and Sattenapalle areas.We can book cases against the farmer,contractor and also parents for violation of the Child Labour Act and also Right to Education Act for engaging children in work.But,the deeper issue revolves around the finances of the families that have migrated.So,we have convinced the parents to make use of the schools to be set up close to the fields, he said.
He said they sought the cooperation of the labour department,which has field staff,to identify the children working in the fields so that they could open special schools for them.
 

The decision to set up makeshift classes on these farmlands could be good move to ensure that child workers here get their education.But the government has to move beyond making these stopgap arrangements to address the serious issue of child labour which is rampant across the state.Be it the cottonseed farms in Mahbubnagar or the chilli fields in Guntur or even the backbreaking work that child workers are made to put in zari units in the Old City,child labour has to be dealt with much more serious thought than simply putting up classrooms for a few days for a few children.A proper policy to mainstream child workers is needed,one that should be executed fast.