Eviction during half-yearly exams puts kids in trouble

There are 370 families in Apparao Garden, who are in the process of being resettled to the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) settlements in Perumbakkam. Velankanni, a resident, is a worried woman as her son, Vishnu of Class 7 has his half-yearly examinations going on. “We are caught between being ready for the move, but I don’t know how my son will be able to concentrate on his half-yearly examinations, due to this move. I really worry how this will affect their studies,” she rued. 

Activists have been criticising the administration’s move to resettle these households, without accounting for the impact on the students and livelihoods of the hundreds of families, resettled more than 20 kms away from the city. Many worry that this will lead to an increase in the drop-out rates among the students. A senior official from the Greater Chennai Corporation, the agency in charge of executing the evictions, said that the Education Department is closely working with the families to ensure that the children’s education is not hampered. 

“Currently, there are five students in Class 11 and one in Class 12, who have their half-yearly exams from Thursday. We have arranged that their houses will not be evicted for the next few days, giving the students enough time to attend their exams. For the students in other classes, we are facilitating to ensure that they take the exams seamlessly,” official said, adding that camps are being held to ensure that the students can get immediate admissions to the schools in the areas where these families have been resettled.