Tribal kids in this TN hamlet are back to studies thanks to a govt school teacher

Around six years ago, the Tiruvallur district administration in Tamil Nadu rescued a few families from bonded labour from a rice mill. While 21 families from the Irular community (scheduled tribe) among them settled near a waterbody of Kadambathur in Tiruvallur district, others relocated to Pudur in Chennai. The families who stayed back in Tiruvallur continued living in the area with no access to the town, electricity and with no Aadhaar, ration or any other identity cards, for over six years. Amid the lack of an identity card, children walked to schools located 3 kilometres away every day, until the pandemic brought education, too, to a grinding halt for them. Like many students in rural areas, the children in this region, too, did not have access to online classes.

Realising the crisis unfolding in this remote area, a government school teacher, along with other teachers and activists, came forward to make education accessible to these students. Since July, Prabhakaran, a government school teacher and district secretary of Tiruvallur PG Teachers Association, along with a help of NGO IRCDUC (Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities) and social activists, have been conducting coaching sessions for the students, including dropouts and school-going children of the hamlet. 

“During the pandemic, some of the students from the hamlet dropped out of school and many others lost touch with studies. I did not want this to be the scenario because they should receive access to formal education and create an identity for themselves,” Prabhakaran told TNM. His team conducts classes every day from 6 pm, in an open area, near a newly installed solar light.

Prabhakaran came to the village first in April 2021 to distribute relief materials during the second coronavirus wave. It was then that he learnt that many children did not even know which class they were studying in. “When I spoke to a student studying in Class 4, she said that she wanted to become a Collector. That moved me and I decided that the children should be motivated to study and started taking classes,” he added. 

There are 31 children in the hamlet, and 24 children among them are of school-going age. Of the 24 students, three children dropped out of school but will soon be enrolled back in the school once the educational institutions reopen, said Prabhakaran.

“As a first step, we fixed solar lights, under which I am taking classes in the evening. I am currently teaching them the foundation in all subjects,” he said, adding, “I have also made a student from the hamlet, who passed Class 12, in charge of taking classes whenever I was unavailable.”

R Tamilarasu, Tiruvallur district Secretary of Tamil Nadu Tribal Association, said, “During the pandemic, the students stopped going to school. Since they were studying in government schools, they did not have online classes. So, the children started going to work along with their parents.”

As most families did not have identity cards, they could not receive the benefits provided by the government. So getting the help of their children in their daily wage work helped them, he said.

“We were afraid the trend might put an end to education for these students,” said Tamilarasan. “Due to Prabhakaran’s initiative, students are at least getting some education, although they are still going for work in the morning. The students are receiving training in formal education and physical training. They also have Prabhakaran as a guide to help them with their ambitions.”

In the coming days, Prabhakaran plans to expand the coaching to students from other hamlets. “I have requested the teachers of my association to extend help and as soon as we receive a response, we will begin the classes in other hamlets as well,” he said, adding, “Even after the pandemic is over, I hope to continue the evening school to provide extra attention to the students from tribal regions.”