Need acooperation not mercy…

Rajni and her younger brother bablu wake up in the early morning and rush to the Ranchi railway station, they collect empty mineral water bottles and waste left by the passengers in train and then sell it to the ‘kabaria’ in the local market. 10 years old Rajni wants to go to school when she look beautiful kids hanging attractive school bags on their shoulders but she doesn’t know that how to get admission in such school. Her younger brother bablu also pick the waste and helps the Rajni. This is not only the story of Rajni and Bablu of Ranchi only hundreds of such children are only in Ranchi railway station while the numbers of such children across the state are uncountable.

Towns of Jharkhand like Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Deoghar and Dumka where such children can be easily found across the state, dirty clothes, naked feet and hanging a jute or poly bag on their shoulder is the common identity of them. In Dhanbad and other coalfields area such children are also indulge in the hazardous work also. In Railway station, Bus stands and also in marketing complex areas, about 50% waste are cleaned by such children says Suresh Raut a supervisor of the Ranchi Municipal Corporation. He says they pick the rags from such places which is not accessible by the cleaner of the RMC also.

In Jharkhand there are about 4 lakhs child labor work in different kind of hazardous work including rag picking. Mostly b/n age 6 to 14 in which the female is more than male kids. Not only in Jharkhand the whole nation is suffering from this problem and the lack of an strong political will power is responsible for this, the govt. doesn’t make their attention just because they are not the ‘vote bank’. If they were a vote bank then govt. couldn’t ignore them. Such kids in their early stage of life, being also used by mediators and their parents for the economic profits because they easily create attention and everyone has a soft corner for them and these kids finally migrate to other state or city for more earnings so we cannot stop them without having a proper planning and infrastructure says Sanjay kumar mishra state coordinator ‘ASTEC’(Action against Trafficking & Sexual Exploitation of Children and Women).

Addiction of drugs:

‘Corex’ cough syrup and ‘Dentrite’ are the common things which are used by such children as an alcoholic agent. They suck the Dentrite in a cloth for insanity. Corex cough syrup is also famous among such children they drink once a bottle of the syrup by which they feel a kind of madness.

While “Dentrite’ is being used for the purpose of an adhesive in the furniture and leather industry and Corex syrup came under the list of ‘schedule H’ medicines which could not be sell without the medical prescription, but such children are the chief customers of these and they get easily such medicines without any prescribe. Medical shopkeepers also know that it is being used for the purpose of intoxication but due to huge margin they never deny to sell them.

Overdose of  such cough syrup in which 8mg of alcohol present in 5ml of  the syrup can cause severe problem, presence of ‘Codeine’ in such syrup can cause nausea, vomiting, constipation and in long term addiction of this can create mental disorder also. It’s very dangerous  to use such cough syrup as an alcoholic agent says Dr. Shishir Kumar shresth of RIMS.

Girls defeat Naxals by Books

At present when the female athletes and astronauts are touching the sky, they have proved themselves that if the equal opportunity is being provided they are not lesser than males in any way. The Indian constitution guarantees equal opportunity before the law for both the sexes, but the traditional society has deprived females from education from a long time. But the perception of society is being changed with respect to time; the awareness about the female education has increased.

After the formation of Jharkhand the poor condition of education was the biggest hurdle in the development, but in the 12 years of a new state the girls became more aware about the education.

Under the ‘Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan’ (SSA) number of girls enrolled in the schools of the state shows the positive change of the society in a decade. The literacy rate of female in 2001 was 38.87% which comes to 56.21% in 2011. The enrollment of girls in the primary schools across the state has become almost equal to the number of boys. Out of 6660259 students up to class VIII 3278869 girls has been enrolled in the 2011-12. Interestingly the gender parity index (G.P.I) is higher than male in backward and naxal affected district like Gumla(1.04) and Lohardaga (1.07)  in the same district in class V-VIII the ratio of boys and girls are 40:60.

Latehar and Garwa district shows a fascinating improvement in a decade where the girl’s literacy rate has increased by 18.26 and 26.56% respectively. The districts where no. of girls students are more than boys in class I-VIII:

District                                    Boys                            Girls                            G.P.I

1.       Lohardaga                  49351                          52643                          1.07

2.      Hazaribagh                  158945                        162594                        1.04

3.      Dhanbad                     227071                        234854                        1.03

4.      Gumla                         114925                        115226                        1.00

After becoming ‘Right to Education’ as a Fundamental Right the enrollment in the schools has increased not only girls, boys also. Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) has prepared an extensive program to enhance the number of students in the schools, now there is no any restriction of academic year to take admission for the students. If any student wishes to enroll in the mid of the academic year, school will complete their course by providing ‘Supplementary Material’ in the 3^rd, 6^th, 9^th and 12^th month of the year. The Supplementary material has designed on the basis of psychological analysis by the JEPC team which also allow the students to enroll as per their age, if a drop out student or a fresher gets enroll then student would be provided classes according to their age not from the beginners level.

Appreciable Courage among Girls

While the census of the government is quite satisfactory, but in ground level the poor socio-economic conditions produce many challenges for them.  In the adverse condition there are several girls who work as a maid to continue their studies.  Reema and Shobha (Name Changed) are two sisters; dwell in the slums of Jaganathpur area in the Capital. Both work as a maid in the morning in different houses and from 10 am they attend the classes. Reema says, “Who wish to work like a maid, but we do not have any other option because our father doesn’t earn and beats regularly my mother while drunk. If we will not earn what will we eat?  and if we don’t study we will not be able to improve our condition.

There are several girls like Reema and Shobha in such schools who pursuing their studies in the adverse condition of life. The girls perform better than boys in government schools and have grabbed better opportunity says Navneeta Hembrom Principal of Thakur Vishwanath Shahdeo School of Jagannathpur. She appreciates the courage of such girls who never discontinue their studies. No

While the “Ladli Laksmi Yojna” and the “Cycle distribution scheme” of the government of Jharkhand, have benefitted and promoted many girls to study, but the complication and lack of information have deprived many girls of the state also. Many girls’ students complain about the long procedure of the schemes and to not getting the proper information about such beneficiary schemes.