Coimbatore:
Twenty-one children, who were rescued by the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) authorities, have cracked the Class X public exams. Directing their energy towards studies, some of them have scripted remarkable success stories.
Naveen P, who was forced to work as a shepherd tending his family’s livestock, topped among the rescued child labourers with a total of 427/500. He was not much interested in studies initially, but got inspired on seeing the officials at the collectorate and aspired to become like them, he told TOI. ”My only ambition is to become an IAS officer, abolish child labour, help and educate children like me,” he said.
With a total of 411 marks, Mahendran P stood second. Hailing from a family of labourers and being the eldest child, he had to share the family’s burden on his shoulders. He was just three years old and was working for a garment company when NCLP authorities rescued him and enrolled him in special training centres. He aspires to study further and become a mechanical engineer, for since childhood, he had an affinity for machines and even repaired them.
Pankajam, a teacher with NCLP, who rescued the boys, said she is much elated with their success. “I found it really difficult to convince their parents initially, for their income was a great source of support to the families. I tried my best to cajole them, for I knew the potential of the boys,” she said, adding that she feels like her own sons have achieved it.