Right to education amiss here

CHENNAI: More than 70 years ago, people from the Irula community settled in Sadayankuppam village of Manali zone in north Chennai. Through these years, only a handful of children have completed their school education and at present, only three children in this community are going to school.

Sadayankuppam is a secluded Irula village with over 250 people living in 40 families.

As per the residents, there are close to 40 children who should have been in school or pursuing higher education. Despite the best efforts from non-profits and a few government officials, many children had dropped out of school over the years.

When DT Next visited the village, there were around 25 children between the ages of 1-17 years who are out of school, and over 20 of them over 18 years, not pursuing any sort of education. Shockingly, only 3 kids (one girl and two boys) are currently attending school.

However, there is yet another challenge that these children who are determined to study even after Class 8 had to face. Sadayankuppam only has a middle school. There’s a higher secondary school in Tiruvottiyur but if the kids want to go there, they have to walk to the main road that’s around 2 km away, catch a bus and get off at a bus stand and walk another kilometre or so to reach the school.

One of the three children is a 14-year-old Varshiya, a Class 8 student at the Sadayankuppam government middle school. She moved to the village about five years back after her father, a lorry driver, suffered a financial crisis.

Varshiya, who recently lost her elder sister to prolonged illness, is determined to continue her education and pursue law as a career. “I’m keen on going to college. After I lost my elder sister too, it’s my responsibility to take care of my family. And I can do that only if I study well. Though the Tiruvottiyur school is far away, I’ve decided to join Class 9 in the coming academic year,” she said.

Varshiya pointed out that many children, especially girls in the village, are hesitant to study or explore the world. “Children here are mostly disinterested in studying or in understanding the ways of the world. While boys quickly venture into work after dropping schools, girls are made to work in the kitchen,” she lamented.

Two boys from the village who go to school are Divakar (Class 2) and Dheena (Class 8). Their father is a tailor and the family moved to Sadayankuppam almost a decade ago.

Dheena said, “I’m not sure about others, but my family insisted that my brother and I attend school. Despite many financial crises, my parents are keen on continuing our education. It’s because of my grandmother that I’m disciplined about attending school.”

Many parents and families living here are not interested in sending their children to school due to the disdain and discrimination kids face at the Sadayankuppam middle school.

Virgil D Sami, executive director, Arunodhaya foundation, Centre for Street and Working Children in north Chennai, said that the plight of these residents have remained unchanged for many years. “We worked with the Irula residents in 2015 during the floods, and encouraged parents to send their kids to school. Most of them attended but over the years, one by one, they began dropping out. Unfortunately, the anganwadi centre also seems to have been shut down at the place,” said Virgil.

She also urged the government departments to intervene for the continuous welfare of these residents. “Though children from this community go to school, they face alienation and discrimination by other students and staff. Such social factors need to be addressed before encouraging them to go back to school,” Virgil pointed out.

Additionally, Ward 4 Councillor R Jayaraman, Tiruvottiyur, said, “There are numerous challenges in sending these children to school. Also, as the higher secondary school is far off, buses need to be arranged, and it’s imperative that the education department intervenes on this quickly.”