Deserted by her husband, Sulthan Beevi, a match factory worker of Indira Nagar in Sivakasi, was uncertain of the future of her son B. Rajak Mohamed, till she met P. Selvakani, a National Child Labour (NCLP) instructor. Today, she is a proud mother. Rajak, who has scored 91 in mathematics, wants to pursue a course of his mother’s choice.
S. Priyadarshini of Sattur, who was part of a family of migrant workers, scored 467 studying in an English medium school. “She will emerge as a model for many rescued child workers,” said Pushparani, NCLP instructor.
What a feat!
Over 400 children rescued from labour in different parts of the State have passed the class 10 examination, securing an overall 92 per cent.
According to officials from the Child Labour Monitoring Cell of the Labour Department, of the 469 children who appeared for the examination, 429 passed. The children were mainstreamed under the NCLP. “We are in talks with our field officers to counsel and enrol these children in better schools according to their stream preferences for class 11 and 12,” said P. Amudha, Labour Commissioner.
The topper among them, S. Kavin, from Salem, scored 476 out of 500 and had been rescued from a power loom unit. S Sivarama Lakshmi of Tirunelveli, who was rescued from a beedi rolling unit, came second with 470. B. Rajak Mohamed of Virudhunagar district, rescued from a match factory, was third with 469 marks.
Officials said that 138 children appeared for the examination in Salem district, which had the maximum count. However, of the 118 successful candidates, Virudhunagar, with the second highest number of 85 students, registered cent per cent results.
Eight of the 15 NCLP districts recorded cent per cent results. In Chennai and Kancheepuram, 12 and 19 children appeared for the examination and all of them passed.
Devarajan, a visually challenged student in Namakkal, rescued from a weaving unit scored 323. “We have enrolled all the rescued children in special classes, after school, so that they can learn better,” said Ms. Amudha. “For those whose parents cannot afford to educate further, we have sought sponsors and enrolled their families in government schemes, so that they do not have to drop out,” she said.
T. Narayanasamy, Director, NCLP, Virudhunagar, attributed the success to motivated instructors who were meticulous in their follow up.
