Childhood Burnt in Brick Kilns

This piece came in 'Political and Business Daily' on 11th November 2012

Childhood Burnt in Brick Kilns

Pradeep Baisakh

A mapping exercise undertaken in 2011-12 by Aide Et Action International (AEAI) and UNICEF in Bhubaneswar, Rourkera and Berhampur cities in house construction, stone crusher and brick kiln sectors found that as many as 84 percent children of school going age do not avail any school facility at the work place. Survey was conducted in 2011-12 in 423 worksites covering 4064 migrant families which captured 9107 children (0 to less than 18 years) in these worksites.

Prem Sai Barik, the son of Pramod Barik and Baijayanti Barik, was studying in class three in his village school in Surekela of Belpada block of Balangir district of Odisha when he migrated to Bhubaneswar, the state capital with parents in September 2011. His parents migrated in search of alternate employment owing to crop loss in village last year. He packed up his books in anticipation of joining a new school in Bhubaneswar. But his hopes were dashed against the walls of a brick kiln, which was miles away from the school.

Growing urbanization and fast expanding infrastructures in the cities of Odisha have drawn huge number unskilled and semi-skilled labourers from the rural pockets inside and outside the state. Labourers are in high demand in building construction, laying highways, digging drainage system, stone crushers, brick making, loading and unloading work so on and so forth.  While in some case single youth migrate to cities to work, in many case families come with their children to work. Some come and stay in the worksites for a longer period while others come for a shorter period or seasonally. Some sectors like brick kilns are season specific which operate for about eight months in a year. The units close their production in rainy days.

Most of the labourers come though the system of middlemen. They are promised of basic minimum amenities at the worksites, which they hardly get. The employers do not show adequate interest for investing on basic amenities and other labour welfare except probably the wages and scanty medical facilities. The children along with their parents adjust themselves in small temporary dwelling units located near the workplaces. The children who come with the parents normally help them in work as they hardly could avail any facility for education near the worksites.

A mapping exercise undertaken in 2011-12 by Aide Et Action International (AEAI) and UNICEF in Bhubaneswar, Rourkera and Berhampur cities in house construction, stone crusher and brick kiln sectors found that as many as 84 percent children of school going age do not avail any school facility at the work place. Survey was conducted in 2011-12 in 423 worksites covering 4064 migrant families which captured 9107 children (0 to less than 18 years) in these worksites. The percentage of children found is 51 percent of the total migrating population covered under the survey. Of the total children, 51 percent are male and 49 percent are female. Of these children, 47 percent come under the age group of 6-14, who are constitutionally entitled to free primary education under the newly enacted Right to Education law that came into force in August 2009.

The study suggests that as many as 41 percent of these children do not attend school in their villages itself! This fact is quite startling as children miss schools even when the same is available. Further study of this phenomenon suggest that many migrating parents do not find it easy to get their children attending schools in their villages as they stay out for a very long period. In brick kiln sector, the families stay in a particular work place from September/October to next year May/June. Rest time they generally stay in their own villages. This is typically seasonal. In construction sector, the families keep roaming from site to site. Once work is over in a particular building or road construction, the same or other contractor takes them to another site. This work goes on almost through out the year. And in stone crushers also work goes on through out the year. Labourers working in construction and stone crushers go to their native during festivals; otherwise they keep migrating from place to place in same or different cities and adapt to the local ambience. Advance payment is given to the families in brick kiln sector where money is taken also for the work of the children who are involved in molding and drying and carrying the bricks. Children above five years work in brick kiln sector. Advance payment system is generally absent in construction and stone crushers barring a few cases. Children above eleven years work in these sectors. In construction sector children carry the bricks and cement and in crushers they break stones.

In only few cases the migrant children are enrolled in the schools at worksites. Near Tapang area in Khurda district, some children who work in stone crushers are studying in the nearby NCLP (National Child Labour Project) schools. While the children of parent working in brick kilns in Balianta and Pipili areas near Bhubaneswar study in the nearby schools. But in all the cases the parents are staying in the area for more that two or three years.

There is not enough motivation for parents to educate their children as they do not see any immediate benefits from it. Even if they are admitted into the school system and continue attending the schools while in the village, the absence of the same facilities at the worksite deprive them of education for more than eight months a year for the children in brick kilns. For other sectors, they could hardly get to read while on wheels. Prioritisation of children’s education seems quite meaningless for them. Ratikant Behera, the researcher at AEAI says “I interacted with some children who were never enrolled into schools. When I asked why they are not going to schools, they just said that they are not interested.” This also shows that the children who are putting hard labour along with parents in the work places hardly draw any solace in taking extra burden of going to schools. Child labour therefore remains as of one of the major reasons for deprivation of children from education.

Sashank Kumar Padhi of ‘Save the Children’ that works on children’s education says “The onus is on the state government to fulfill the constitutional mandate protecting educational rights of the migrant children. A convergence of different line departments like education, labour and Panchaytiraj is pre-requisite for this to happen.”

Krishna Gopal Mohapatra, the Special Project Director (SPD) to Sarva Sikshya Aviyan (SSA), says “we are taking a series of measures to ensure education of migrant children coming from within the state.” SSA Odisha has issued orders to the District Project Coordinators (DPC) to identify the migrant children in different worksites who are eligible for primary education and link them to the nearby schools. It has also directed to the major source districts like Ganjam, Nuapada, Balangir and others to tentatively assess the number of migrant children at the source so that residential hostel facilities could be provided in the schools to keep the children of migrating parents during migration seasons.  

But not withstanding a host of government schemes and organised campaign by the NGOs and child rights activists, it is a matter if shame that childhood continues to be burnt in brick kilns.

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The author is a media fellow of National Foundation of India (NFI) for the year 2012. This article is written as part of the fellowship work. He can be reached though e mail: 2006pradeep@gmail.com