Standing on the sands of Marina and watching high tides was both exhilarating and intimidating to C. Alagesan and M. Selvam. Exhilarating because these tribal students, who were once child labourers, have never seen the sea in their life; intimidating because they thought it would wash them away.
“My concern is that our parents would blame the teachers if we are drowned,” said Alagesan, studying at the National Child Labour Project School (NCLP) that offers a bridge course to erstwhile child labourers before admitting them to regular schools.
Alagesan and Selvam along with 33 students from various tribal hamlets in Erode district are on an educational tour. They travelled in the Chennai Metro, visited Birla Planetarium, Egmore Museum, Guindy Children’s Park and other important places. “I felt as if I was lodged in a refrigerator,” said Alagesan talking about his metro journey experience.
“The purpose of the tour is to give them an idea about city life. We feel that it will stimulate their thirst for learning,” said S.C. Natarajan, director of Sundar, an NGO, that organised the tour.
Of the 35 students, there were 17 girls. Fifty per cent of the students are dropouts while the others have never been to a school.
K. Roja, who used to collect grass from forests for making brooms, is attending the NCLP schools only for the last two months.
“I am totally fascinated by the skeleton of the whale. I want to become a doctor as there is nobody to treat people in my villages,” said Roja, adding that she had seen most of the embalmed animals on display at the museum. All the students speak Tamil, Kannada and Oorali, a tribal language, which has no script.
“The problem in providing education is language. Most of them speak Oorali at home and we need teachers who know the language till the children are comfortable with Tamil,” said Mr Natarajan.
He also pointed out that mainstreaming these children was a task since there were not enough schools in tribal areas.
While Alagesan aspires to become a teacher, Selvan’s aim is to become a policeman.
“I will arrest those who drink and abuse others. They are a nuisance,” said Selvam, an avid fan of actor Vijay. Alagesan regularly watches news channels and films of actor Dhanush. “I will be happy if you take me to meet him,” he said. M. Sethupathy, a VII standard student, is also keen on becoming a policeman. “I want to prevent those who are hunting birds and animals,” he said.
Thirty-five children, who were once child labourers, are on an educational tour
