Skip to main content

Caught between Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Gujarat govt, agariya children are "refused" midday meal

By Our Representative
With the schooling season having begun, activists of the Agariya Hit Rakshak Manch (AHRM), who are active among saltpan workers of the Little Rann of Kutch, have expressed strong apprehension that children or around 14,000 saltpan workers, who propose to shift to the Little Rann to produce salt in September, may turn into out-of-school kids. While the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), a Central scheme, runs makeshift schools for these children, the kids are not offered any normal facilities which primary school kids should get.
“The total SSA budget for a makeshift school for six months is a mere Rs 30,000, out of which Rs 18,000 goes into paying Bal Mitras, 10th and 12th class pass-outs enrolled to motivate dropped out children to return to schools”, says AHRM activist Ghanshaym Zula, who works with the agariyas bordering the Little Rann of Kutch off Patan district. He adds, “Bal Mitras are hardly capable of teaching. With pittance in their hands, they stay put in the Rann to somehow run the schools. You require regular teachers to teach the children.”
Worse, complain activists, the kids in the Little Rann are not provided with any midday meal, which is given in regular primary schools. “SSA says they have no provision for it, while the Gujarat government has remained simply indifferent towards the whole thing”, complaints activist Marutsinh Bariya, who works among saltpan workers off Surendranagar district, adding, “Things become worse as children remain in makeshift schools starting at 10 in the morning till 5 in the evening. Often, they are provided with chiki and biscuit, how can you survive on that?”
In fact, activists say, by not providing midday meal, the Gujarat government is simply shirking from its responsibility of implementing the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, under which the government is obliged to provide every child primary school education up to the eighth standard. “Implemented late in Gujarat, in February 2012, indifference towards RTE is nowhere more visible than vis-à-vis the agariya children“, says activist Bharat Samera, who works among the agariyas bordering Malia region.
Interestingly, what is happening in the Rann is just opposite of an experiment which began several years ago – under which Rann Shalas as extensions of the regular schools would operate to take care of education of the kids who moved to the Little Rann. The experiment has come to a grinding halt. While lower primary children would get regular schooling in these Rann Shalas, village hostels began to operate for children of the upper primary level. This was somewhat successful, especially in the Rann area next to Surendranagar district. Though on paper, it is as good as dead ow. “The Rann Shalas have virtually stopped functioning, while the village hostels are in a poor shape“, regrets Samera.
As for the makeshift schools, SSA often begins them late. Though the agariya children arrive in the Rann in September, sometimes they do not start their operation till December. Which means that even the poor quality education, provided through Bal Mitras, is not offered to the kids in the Little Rann of Kutch for the time they remain in Kutch.
Meanwhile, senior activist Pankti Jog, of NGO Janpath, who has been working with saltpan workers, says, the entire agariya community faces neglect, whether it is education or health. “Womenfolk, including pregnant women, are refused any healthcare in the entire area. The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), under which infants should be provided with all the basic healthcare facilities free of cost, including vaccines, does exist not for them. The children grow up as malnourished kids, and have little or no option to diversify into other occupations once they age.”

Comments

TRENDING

Adani coalmine delayed? Australian senate fails to pass crucial "reform" amendment for project's financial closure

Adanis' Mundra power plant, controversial in Australia By  A  Representative In what is being described as a new “new hurdle”, the proposed Adani coalmine in the Queensland state of in Australia failed to get the crucial Australian Parliamentary nod, essential for financial closure for one of the biggest coalmining projects in the world. The government lost the Senate vote 35-33, meaning the legislation won't pass until the Senate returns in mid-June.

Paul Newman wasn't just remarkably talented, he was anti-war activist, disdained Hollywood excesses

By Harsh Thakor*  On January 26th of this year, we celebrated the birth centenary of Paul Newman, one of the finest actors of his era. His passing on September 26, 2008, after a prolonged battle with lung cancer, was met with an outpouring of tributes and remembrances from artists across the film industry, all sharing their thoughts and memories of the legendary actor.  

Aurangzeb’s last will recorded by his Maulvi: Allah shouldn't make anyone emperor

By Mohan Guruswamy  Aurangzeb’s grave is a simple slab open to the sky lying along the roadside at Khuldabad near Aurangabad. I once stopped by to marvel at the tomb of an Emperor of India whose empire was as large as Ashoka the Great's. It was only post 1857 when Victoria's domain exceeded this. The epitaph reads: "Az tila o nuqreh gar saazand gumbad aghniyaa! Bar mazaar e ghareebaan gumbad e gardun bas ast." (The rich may well construct domes of gold and silver on their graves. For the poor folks like me, the sky is enough to shelter my grave) The modest tomb of Aurangzeb is perhaps the least recognised legacies of the Mughal Emperor who ruled the land for fifty eventful years. He was not a builder having expended his long tenure in war and conquest. Towards the end of his reign and life, he realised the futility of it all. He wrote: "Allah should not make anyone an emperor. The most unfortunate person is he who becomes one." Aurangzeb’s last will was re...

Health expert Dr Amitav Banerjee on commercialization of healthcare and neglect of natural immunity

By AK Shiburaj  In an interview with me, eminent health expert Dr. Amitav Banerjee has examined the impact of privatization on the healthcare sector, the implications of the World Health Organization (WHO) becoming a commercially driven entity, and the consequences of a pharmaceutical industry prioritizing profit over public health. He argues that an approach ignoring the importance of natural immunity fosters a drug-centric system that undermines the benefits of modern medicine.

Haven't done a good deed, inner soul is cursing me as sinner: Aurangzeb's last 'will'

Counterview Desk The Tomb of Aurangzeb, the last of the strong Mughal emperors, located in Khuldabad, Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, has this epitaph inscribed on it: "Az tila o nuqreh gar saazand gumbad aghniyaa! Bar mazaar e maa ghareebaan gumbad e gardun bas ast" (the rich may well construct domes of gold and silver on their graves. For the poor folks like me, the sky is enough to shelter my grave).

Trust, we (from People to PM and President) did not take a Holy Dip in some Holy Shit!

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava  I could see two deeply interlinked aspects between human and water in #MahaKumbh2025. Firstly, the HOPE that a ‘holy dip’ in the River Ganga (colloquially referred as dubki and spiritually as ‘Snan’) will cleanse oneself (especially the sins); and secondly, the TRUST that the water is pure to perform the cleansing alias living the hope. Well, I consider hope to be self-dependent while, trust is a multi-party dependent situation. The focus here is on the trust and I shall write later on hope.

Hyderabad seminar rekindles memories of the spark lit 50 years ago by students

By Harsh Thakor*  History is something we constantly remember and reflect upon, but certain moments and events bring it back to our memory in a special way. For the Telugu people, and Telangana in particular, the memorial seminar held on February 20–21 was a significant occasion to recall the glorious events, transformations, leaders, and heroes of past struggles. Thousands of students rewrote the history of people's movements in Andhra Pradesh, carrying revolutionary zeal and the spirit of self-sacrifice to levels comparable to the Russian and Chinese Revolutions.

4th Dalit literature festival to address critical issues affecting Dalits, women, tribals

By A Representative  The 4th Dalit Literature Festival (DLF) has been announced, with the theme "World Peace is Possible Through Dalit Literature."  The festival will take place on February 28th and March 1st, 2025, at Aryabhatta College, University of Delhi (South Campus).  Organized by the Ambedkarvadi Lekhak Sangh (ALS) in collaboration with Aryabhatta College, Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM), and other organizations, the DLF aims to highlight the power of Dalit literature in fostering global peace and addressing social injustices.

Vadodara citizens urge authorities to adhere to environmental mandates in Vishwamitri River Rejuvenation Project

By A Representative   A coalition of environmental activists, ecologists, and urban planners in Vadodara has issued an urgent appeal to state and municipal authorities, demanding strict compliance with court-mandated guidelines for the upcoming Vishwamitri River rejuvenation project. Scheduled to commence in March 2025, the initiative aims to mitigate flooding and restore the river, but citizens warn that current plans risk violating National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders and jeopardizing the river’s fragile ecosystem, home to endangered species like crocodiles and Indian Softshell Turtles.  

Buddhist communities in Michigan protest for Mahabodhi Temple’s return to Buddhist control

By A Representative   Buddhist communities in Michigan have staged protests demanding the return of the Mahabodhi Vihara in Gaya, Bihar, India, to full Buddhist control. The Mahabodhi Temple, regarded as the holiest pilgrimage site in Buddhism, is currently managed under the Bodhgaya Temple Act of 1949, which grants a majority of control to non-Buddhists.