Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore   

Doubts over Flexi School concept for City

By Our Special Correspondent

Bangalore Dec. 1. The Campaign Against Child Labour Advocacy Unit (CACL) has expressed doubts over the proposed Flexi School for Bangalore. The Flexi School concept has been mooted to reduce the number of school dropouts and provide an opportunity for children who may otherwise not find it, to get education. The dropout rate after the primary level in the corporation and government schools in the City is alarmingly high. CACL's concern is that such schools may dilute the policy of total eradication of child labour because some may find it convenient to take a position ``let the children work and earn and at the same time also study.'' A CALC delegation, which had meetings with the Commissioner of Public Instruction, V.P.Baligar, made several recommendations and several were accepted in principle.A Flexi School should be short-term, transit schools meant for the limited purpose of attracting working children towards education and eventually get them admitted to a formal school. In this, the Education Department was performing its role under the State Action Plan on Child Labour for rehabilitating all child workers between the ages of 6 and 14, whether in hazardous or other type of employment. ``Any child out of school is a child labourer'' is the agreed definition in this document. CACL has suggested that no child should remain beyond six months in a Flexi School and this period should be used for counselling the child and parents on the need for the child to stop working and take up formal education. A cooked meal instead of dry rations, health check-ups, vitamin supplements, medical care for occupational or other diseases, psycho-social and family counselling and where necessary, de-addiction should be provided. Many working children are prone to substance addiction such as ``glue sniffing.''

This period should be used for conducting a means test for the child's family and when necessary, the Education Department should associate with other departments to extend support to the family through urban poverty alleviation schemes, and others such as disability or widow's pensions. Scholarships or loans for education could also be made available.

As the Education Department officials have been named as inspectors under the Child Labour Act, the process of getting the child released from labour should start the day the child joins schools, the CALC has recommended. If necessary, this should be done in coordination with the Labour Department and legal action taken against the employer and the cost of rehabilitating the child recovered from him as directed by the Supreme Court in the M.C.Mehta case.

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