16-year-old brings back 'working children' to schools

As sixteen-year-old Priyadarshini was wrapping up her Sunday on March 13, she had a surprise visitor in a 14-year-old boy. This teenager sought Priyadarshini’s help in convincing his mother to send him back to school from a job that he was forced to take up due to his family’s financial condition post-Covid-19 lockdown.

Why did the boy come to the 16-year-old girl? It is because Priyadarshini, in the past few months, has successfully brought as many as 20 students back to school in Tiruvarur district in the Cauvery Delta region from the odd jobs they were doing for the past few months due to the closure of government institutions owing to the pandemic.

These students had not returned to schools even after the institutions reopened last year, but Priyadarshini took the erroneous task of ensuring that they hold textbooks and pens on their hands yet again. For this 11th standard student knew the pain of child labour as she had worked in a neighbourhood shop before she quit the job to fully concentrate on her studies.

“I began working when I was studying 7th standard. I always wanted to play after school but I could not since I was working in the evening hours. I would feel bad when children of my age enjoyed their playtime. I pulled out of my job in a year after my aunt advised me to do so. I understood the feelings of the working students and resolved to get them back to school,” she told DH.

Priyadarshini, a student of Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Valangaiman, is no less than a star now in Tiruvarur district, and that is why the boy knocked at the doors of Priyadarshini asking her to talk to his mother so that he can also don the school uniform again.

“The boy came to my house and told me Akka (sister) I want to go to school again. But my mother wants me to work. Please talk to her like you did to other parents and make sure I go to school. I haven’t been able to talk to her. But will certainly ensure that this boy is back in his school,” she added.

Priyadarshini’s efforts have earned praise from several government officers, including Tiruvarur district collector B Gayatri Krishnan, bureaucrat Ilambagavath, OSD of Illam Thedi Kalvi (School at your doorstep), Sudhan, State Project Director, Samagra Shiksha, and Tiruvarur district CEO Thiyagarajan, who felicitated her.

Talking about her journey of bringing 20 students back to school, the girl said most of them were yearning to get back to studies but their financial conditions was not allowing them to do so.

“I made a list of such students and began visiting their homes after my school. It was difficult at first instance, but slowly I was able to convince their parents. Some students were not willing to quit their jobs and I told them about the need for education,” the 11th standard student said.

As Priyadarshini’s efforts received accolades, her teacher and guide Bhuvaneswari said they have been getting calls from several people providing information on school children working in various places.

“It is Priya’s resolve to help the students that motivated me. She walked the extra mile to get these students back to school. I just supported her. Since she was very sincere in her efforts, I suggested Priya convert this into a project for the National Students Science Conference. I am happy that so many others now seek Priya’s help,” Bhuvaneswari told DH.

Priyadarshini did not just bring the students working in shops to schools but also counselled their classmates not to talk about their previous job and why they took a long time to come back. “The students should not be asked about their past. That was my intention. My only appeal to the government is the age of child labour should be increased from 14 to 18 so that everyone studies at least till 12th standard,” she said.

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