Many non-Marathi people asked if I could share a summary of the webinar or the survey report. To start with here are some points I jotted down as I was listening. Will share the report/paper when available. The webinar is also available on Youtube if you missed it yesterday. Starts with the survey report and secon half is panel discussion. You can watch two short video clips of participants at 49:35 or so. In Gormati.

What is going on with the education of children of migrant workers in the Covid times? The families move to the SugarCane fields in Oct-Nov and come back in May after the end of season. Historically, their children dropped out for this period and found it difficult to go back to school.

Jnana Prabodhini started साखर शाळा (SakharShala), short term (100 days) schools attached to sugar mills. In 2008, after the Right to Education (RTE) act it became legally mandatory for the children to be enrolled in AshramShala, residential schools or SakharShala at the premises of the sugar mills. During Covid lockdown, the AshramShalas closed down. No other educational activities were available for these children. Various waves of unlock has opened the work spaces but not the education spaces. It is time for the workers to migrate. As the AshramShala is not open yet, the children will go with their parents and will not return to school till May next year, effectively losing an entire school year.

JPP Harali center was working with AshramShala students focusing on specific aspects of development before the Pandemic. The insistance on expression in student’s own language made these programs very successful. After the lockdown in March 2020 students returned home and have been out of school. The survey was an effort to understand the current situation. The survey focused on basic information of each migrant hamlet, specific information about the families, and understanding educational needs of 10-12th grade students. With the survey questionaire, the exercise was also used to have candid conversations with people of all ages. The survey was conducted in 30 hamlets in 3 Districts of Usmanabad, MH – Lohara, Tulajapur, Umarga.

Some findings:
– Afraid of school although also reverance. School loved for playing games. Afraid as they have not got the educational materials and have not done the exercises received on mobile phones.
– Overall, fathers were indifferent while mothers were more worried/passionate about lost education. Older people acknowledged that it was the first generation that had managed to stay in school and school shutdown has reversed the situation.
– If something is not done sooner, students will not return to school. Students have forgotten what they learnt and joined parents in the fields.
– Gender specific – Girl students will be married off while young boys will join the labour force.
– Online education is an alien concept. Most do not have mobiles. 77% have been completely out of touch with their school education. 10% received books but no instruction or visits. 12% have managed some education through mobile or TV.
– 48% families will take the kids with them when they migrate, out of which 14% will take some kids and leave some kids back with elders. Even if schools start later, the children will not be around to go to school. However, If school starts in Dec-Jan, 78% families are ready to send their children back.
– Reasons to take children with them: 59% families do not have elders/relatives who will stay back to take care of children left behind. 19% families expect their grown up children to work with them in the field.

Panel Discussion:
Abhijit Kapre: Education (or lack thereof) of children of sugarcane migrant workers is not a new problem. Many organizations are working on it. How has Covid affected/exacerbated the situation.
Note: following are some interesting points from the panel discussion. not a summary.

Pravin Mahajan: Covid has not changed the situation much for this population. Migration is not going to stop. In the last decade their is recognition that this situation exists. Instead of thinking of stopping it, it is necessary to build systems acknowledging it. Children should not be separated from parents till 8 yrs of age. It is not advisable to stop children from going with their parents. The problem is not migration but lack of resources at the site of migration.

Nutan Baghade: Brought up other facets of keeping children in school – need to work with parents and not just students. Gave examples of variety of schemes that stopped migration.
Gender issues – early marriage is a major issue in Marathwada. Need concerted effort on village level. Need for dialogue with parents of girls around 8th grade. Ensuring safe spaces. Parents do not want girls to go far from home so distance from home becomes a major variable for dropouts. Need to work with boys to make spaces safe for girls.
Note: YoungLives working paper based on study of schools in Andhra Pradesh has identified Distance from school as a significant factor in school dropouts at secondary level “more dropouts are observed before completing secondary education in communities where a public high school is more than 5 km away (36.4 per cent), compared to communities where the school was closer (23 per cent).”

Prakash Ranavare: Residential schools at the sugar mill with parents visiting on the weekly breaks did not work. Parents did not trust/like to keep younger kids away from them even during week days. Suggested schools midway from two mills and students travelling to school every day. Following the migrant group and educators meeting them where they are, has worked in some places (Theur??) but do not have enough people to do it in other places.

Pravin: Should not worry too much about गुणवत्तापूर्ण शिक्षण. Children who are 4-5th generation students vs students who are 1st or 2nd generation unfortunately have the same syllabus. It is not useful for either. Need to rethink what is quality (गुणवत्तापूर्ण) education for 1st generation children. If they stay with education and enjoy it, you can say it is quality. सर्वांगीण विकास – all round development is the key.
Note: I agree with the all round development but expecting less from 1st generation students is a slippery slope/recipe for widening the gap. This kind of low expectation bias is what did in the black students.