Progress Report
Working with parents and the wider community to help child labourers access education
June 2007 - May 2008
Out of school children from poor communities in Kolkata, especially those aged 9-14, are easily absorbed into the informal labour force, particularly if their families have migrated from Bihar or other neighbouring states, as their education has already been disrupted.
CINI has reached out to 109 children, by providing them with academic and non-academic support, through two education camps in Tiljala and Khanaberia, where many children are engaged in hazardous occupations, working with noxious chemicals in the tanneries, or sorting waste in the rubbish dumps. By the end of the academic year, 73% of children were successfully mainstreamed within 12 months into local primary or secondary schools.
Aim: to reach out to the most vulnerable 'at risk' out of school children in Kolkata, to ensure their fundamental right to education, with the active participation of stakeholders in the process
Objectives: to mainstream out of school children into formal schools and help them enjoy their childhood; and to raise awareness of parents, local community leaders, teachers and employers, making them aware of the importance of educating all children, and encouraging them to make the changes needed in order to enable deprived urban children to attend school.
Profile of the locality
Tiljala is a tannery area, where child labourers are often recruited to either stretch hide for drying in the sun, run errands, or are involved in various processes of making finished leather products, such as cutting out straps for sandals. Children are exploited and their wages are very low (13p - 19p per day).
Children working in Khanaberia are primarily rag pickers. They collect rags, plastics and waste items from the dumping ground of the local authority. Working conditions are unhygienic, and as a result, many children suffer from pulmonary problems and skin infections.
Boys cutting out rubber straps for flip flops
Activities
Pre-camp activities
Background research: In June, children at risk of being drawn into child labour were identified through household surveys and from local workshops, streets and dumping grounds. They were encouraged to attend the camps with the support and involvement of their parents and community.
Enrolment of children into the camps: From mid June to August, 109 children age 9-14 years were enrolled.
Camp activities
The camps were located in the heart of each community, and were open for 8-10 hours each day. Children attending the camps were either those that had never been to school or had dropped out of school. At the camps, children received Bridge Course training - an accelerated learning methodology.
This intensive educational support helps children to learn the skills they need to join their peers in mainstream schools. Learning was reinforced through revision and regular testing during the year. Individual support was provided to slow-learners or those with learning difficulties (common amongst children who have experienced childhood malnutrition). Support was also given to children with behavioural difficulties.
In addition, children were encouraged to be creative and were taken on recreational and educational trips to local theme parks and museums.
Children were fed two meals a day; at breakfast and at lunch. This helps to replace the lost income of children who were previously engaged in child labour, by reducing their family's household spending.
Other supportive activities Monthly parents' meetings were held, to empower parents and inform them about the progress of their child. In addition, meetings with mothers were held to discuss the performance of the community based teachers, health-related issues, school admission and resource mobilisation for the centre.
Children's meetings enabled children to discuss issues, such as child rights, early marriage, child labour, drugs and child abuse.
Children celebrated national days such as Children's Day (14th November), Teachers Day (5th September) and Independence Day (15th August). On 15th January, children exhibited the work they had completed during the year.
Activities came to an end with a camp closing ceremony in May, with the active participation of community leaders and volunteers. Gifts were given to the mainstreamed children to congratulate them and thank them for their hard work. Newly enrolled children and their parents were motivated and inspired about the year ahead.
Mainstreaming children into formal schools
From April to June, children underwent internal academic reviews to assess their academic levels. Their grades for their final assessment were used to seek admission into local schools. The children conducted their admission tests in the local schools and competed with other children from their area.
73% of children were mainstreamed into age appropriate classes in local schools within the 12 month period. Of these, 51% were boys and 49% were girls. The remaining 27% have not yet been mainstreamed into schools. Most will return to the education camps for intensive educational support for another year, and will be prepared to be mainstreamed at the end of the next academic year.
Challenges faced and lessons learned
Child labour is a persistent problem in the slums. Although many out of school children require education, there are not enough schools for them in the area. Moreover, schools have stringent rules for admission.
The hidden cost of education is often beyond the means of many families, who are unable to give priority to their children's education (even though education is free and compulsory until age 14). Of the few schools that are available, most are quite far away, and many families struggle to pay for the transport costs.
In Tiljala, the tannery area, CINI has undertaken dialogue with local employers in an effort to curb the number of child labourers in their factories. Unfortunately, this has not proven very successful.
In Khanaberia, the area where many children work alongside their parents sorting waste at the rubbish dump, CINI is in regular contact with parents, informing them about the benefits of education for their children and urging them to enrol their children in the education camp. This approach has been much more successful. An advocacy workshop will be held, where issues such as child labour will have priority.
Sibling care is very common amongst girls. This prevents them from going to upper primary schools.
Living conditions remain dismal and the local environment is polluted by leather factories and dumping grounds. Both of these factors are very harmful for the children. CINI has formed a steering committee in the tannery area to help combat the unhygienic conditions and take responsibility for keeping abreast of child labour in the area. In Khanaberia, little can be done as the land is owned by the Kolkata Corporation.
Migration is another challenge. Children in Tiljala often migrate to their native villages after being mainstreamed. If children migrate with their parents (often during the agricultural cultivation season), CINI encourages parents to return as soon as possible, to minimise disruption to their child's education.
Future plans beyond the grant period
Most mainstreamed children are first generation learners. Therefore, in order to retain them in local schools, CINI is working to ensure that coaching and homework support is available to help ensure they stay in school.
Monthly parents' meetings were held, to empower parents and inform them about the progress of their child. In addition, meetings with mothers were held to discuss the performance of the community based teachers, health-related issues, school admission and resource mobilisation for the centre.
