Tamil Nadu: Tribal children to attend classes, after intervention of govt officials

COIMBATORE: Bhavana, a resident of the Puliyankandi tribal settlement in Aliyar who started working at a textile mill in Sulur a month ago, was on cloud nine after her mother telephoned her a few days ago.
The 17-year-old girl’s mother told her that she can quit her job and go back to school to pursue her dreams as soon as the government resumes bus service.
Her mother Rasathi had sent Bhavana to the mill for a monthly salary of Rs 6,000 after her school was closed four months ago due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Revenue department and school education department officials, who inspected the settlement a few days ago, convinced Rasathi to continue her daughter’s education.
“I will bring her back to the settlement once the bus service resumes. She always wanted to become a police officer. Let her pursue her dreams. She has the blessings of her father, who committed suicide in May,” Rasathi told TOI.
The officials will also help other children in the settlement to go back to school. “We inspected four settlements – Puliyankandi, Nellithuraimannan, Ellappa Colony and Chinnarpathi – and held talks with the residents. We obtained their assurance in writing that they will educate their children and not force them to work. Only four children from Puliyankandi were identified as absentees. The remaining kids had attended school till March,” said Pollachi district educational officer (DEO) S Subramanian.
The officials have requested the electricity board to provide power connection to the houses in the settlements. “The students will be able to attend virtual classroom sessions that will telecast through 13 channels from Monday at primary schools that have TV. We have instructed teachers of a government high school in Aliyar to visit the settlements to teach the students and conduct assessments,” he said.
On July 27, TOI had carried a report about the plight of the children of tribal settlements in Pollachi, who were forced to work as farmhands due to lack of infra to attend online classes and the uncertainty over reopening of schools. It prompted the Madras high court to direct the state government to inspect the settlements and file a report within three weeks.
The officials are preparing the report to be submitted to the court, Pollachi sub-collector R Vaithinathan said.
Meanwhile, revenue officials inspected the Puliyankandi settlement on Friday after several houses were damaged in rain. They have allowed 33 residents to stay in the government elementary school in the locality till rain stops.