Students in Ranchi district help families during the sowing season at a huge cost: Their education

Ranchi: A 13-year-old girl from Chaidri Khumbhatoli village in Ranchi district’s Sisai block has been skipping school for around a week now, along with her two brothers, to help their family in their paddy plantation business. For Poornima Oraon’s family in Jharkhand, agriculture is the primary source of income, and the entire family works together to ensure that the produce is good as the income it generates helps them survive for at least six months. Poornima enjoys every minute of her time in the fields as for her, this was not work but a time to play with her siblings and sing her favourite songs with them. “I get bored in school. I like playing here with my brothers in the mud. We compete over who can plant the maximum paddy in a day,” she said. [caption id=“attachment_4957431” align=“alignleft” width=“379”] Children of government schools in Jharkhand skip classes to work in the field with their parents during the plantation season. Image Courtesy: Shakuntala Oraon[/caption] However, Poornima’s mother Soni Oraon, who is unhappy about making her children skip school, says she does not have a choice. “We have to finish the plantation during the rains, otherwise the crops won’t grow well,” she said. “But it is not possible to do it alone, so I get my children to help. I don’t like that they are missing midday meals and education, but there is no other option.” Poornima is one of the many children from rural Jharkhand who don’t attend classes to help their parents at their paddy plantations. According to a survey by the Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society in 2015, agriculture is the primary source of livelihood of 71.9 percent of the rural population of the state. As a result, when the sowing season arrives, the entire family heads to work together in the fields. Monica Xalxo, who was seen working in the fields along with her husband and four children said: “We cannot afford to hire people, so it comes down to all the family members to work hard and complete plantation on time. I take leave from the household where I work as a domestic help, and my husband does not go to work as a daily-wage labourer. We get the children to join us for a few days instead of going to school.” Even if the family can afford to hire help in the fields, getting people is a difficult task as most of the villagers who do not own agricultural land leave for cities and other states in search of work. “We are ready to pay, but most of the people are either busy in their own fields or migrate to other places in search of work. As a result, we have to involve our children in the fields,” said Madan Munda of Ranchi district’s Nagdi block. Anup Kesari, principal of Government Middle School in Angada block’s Idd village, said that in most cases, students apply for holidays before their families begin to plan the plantation season. “Most of the children who take leave are from classes six to eight, but in some cases, children as young as eight years old also go to help their families in the fields. They do not take leave for the entire month, but they don’t come to school on alternate days or an entire week,” he said. Kesari explained that the school could not refuse their requests for leave on humanitarian grounds. “Most of the children at our school are from extremely poor financial backgrounds, and their families need all the help they can get during the sowing season to arrange for money for the entire year. This is why we never refuse leave to the children during this time,” the principal said. Bajrang Prasad, teacher at Government Middle School in Bedo block’s Karge village, pointed out that as compared to the 90 percent attendance at the institute on regular days, the figure dips to 60 percent during the plantation season between mid-July and mid-August. “While some children don’t come for the entire day, some leave after having their midday meal. In such cases, their parents have to come to school and take them after seeking permission from the principal,” Prasad said, adding that the school tries to ensure that the children stay for at least half the day so they can have food before going to work in the fields. “Some of the children who come to our school are so poor that these are the only meals they have through the day. So we try to persuade them to at least sit till lunch hour.” Skipping school for a long duration during the sowing month also harms their education as they miss out on a big chunk of the syllabus. “Different students take leave on different days throughout the month, so it becomes really difficult for us to ensure that they are all caught up with the syllabus,” Prasad said. “Also, there is a shortage of teachers at most government schools in rural areas, so devoting more than one class to teach the same topic is not possible for us.” The Karge school principal believes that providing a 15-day holiday at government schools during the sowing season could help make sure that the students are able to help their families but not at the cost of their education. “If a holiday is declared for 15 days, then the villagers can plan their sowing activities during that time, and children will not have to miss out on the syllabus,” he said. The author is a member of The NewsCart_, a Bengaluru-based media startup_