Migrant labor schools

I was not able to go to the Migrant labor school(s), but I did spend 2 weeks during my field work there.

I am revisiting my analysis of the class, caste and gender ideologies operating in the migrant labor school here.

Most of the children are first-generation learners. The parents work as unskilled labor in construction sites. Up rootedness and exploitation are themes that run through their lives. Their economic, social and cultural capital is minimal. Parents at the Epsilon site work in construction or in the garment industry or as housemaids. The dads were mostly not seen when we went to the homes to call the children to school one morning- we only saw some mothers leaving for work, or grandmothers, or the children on their own. The parents earn about Rs. 10,000 per month jointly, and many live in temporary structures(not made of concrete). Some drink and gamble, and others are like Gundamma’s family which has some savings and have moved into a rented house.

The homes at the Windmills site are provided by the builder and in better shape. The builder also provides electricity, water, security and toilets. However, the wages are lower since the workers interact directly with the company. At the Epsilon site the workers are routed through a contractor.

I interviewed a set of parents at the Windmills school one afternoon. Most are from an agricultural background from villages in Raichur in North Karnataka. They have fields which are hit by water problems, and have parents, siblings, house back in the village. They complained about their wages (ranges between Rs. 100 – 150 a day) for work from 8:30 a.m.– 5:00 p.m., (O.T. extra) saying that the money was not enough in a city like Bangalore. They said they got no advance, no id except village voter cards, no pension, no bonus, no sweets or extras- they simply get their wages once every 20 days or monthly. The wages are lower for the women and the men. When asked why there was a difference , the women claim they do the same work , and yet are paid lesser, while one of the men claimed that the work the men do is tougher, hence the difference. We see that they are subject to the disadvantages of belonging to the lower class, minority group or gender and do not have much choice in terms of the wages they are paid.

The school encourages the children to study, and takes pains to construct a meaningful curriculum for the children. The parents are aware that the school is a good one, and are appreciative of the school's efforts. But there are prevailing ideologies about women, that prevent them from leveraging on the school's encouragement. As per Ravi, the school coordinator, parents may nod their heads in agreement when teachers try to convince them about the need for education. But, they go back to their village and marry off the girls before they turn seventeen or eighteen. They are afraid that having an unmarried girl around at home, while they are away at work, will cause loose tongues to wag, and ruin her name.

I talked to some of the women - when asked about why girls were married off early - one mother said,  “bojh kam ho jayega” (our burden will be reduced) and “padkhar kya karegee”(what is the use of being educated). The mother was bold enough to convey her unhappiness with the curriculum. She does not see it as translating into useful skills for the children. 

I met Reshma and Hussainabanu who have been with the school for about 2 years, were mainstreamed and are now 14/15 years old. They have stopped going to school. They go to work from 8:30 a.m.- 6:30 p.m. sweeping and cleaning an apartment, and will soon be married off. Ravi told us that they are already engaged to be married.

Reshma’s sisters Rukshana and Sania also study in the school. Reshma says she will ensure Rukshana will study further, even though her parents have not allowed her to study further. She says she likes studying – Hussainabanu says she likes coming to school because she likes talking to the teachers (even if I ask her whether she comes to school because of her friends, she says no- it is because of the teachers). Both mention that Sharanamma, another student at the school, wants to become a doctor but they are certain it won’t happen. They say that at the most, Sharanamma will make it to the 10^th standard, but not beyond, because her parents will put an end to her education at the end of 10^th grade.

The school is the only microsystem that encourages the children’s desire to study. That the kids are aware of this fact is clear from a questionnaire that Samir from our group gave to the children of the mainstream government school. When asked, “who will help you achieve your dreams”, most of the children hesitated and then perhaps pinned down parents’ names. However, the two girls from this school had no hesitation in writing “teacher” for their answer.

In short, we see that the kids are subject to the constraints of belonging to a class, caste, minority group or gender that is at the lowest rung in society and where survival is the key problem. We also see that some do buy into the belief that education is useful, while others look at the reality – that sending the children out into the workforce quickly is more ‘useful’ than continuing with an education system that does not guarantee marketable skills.

Valley visit

The Valley school visit was a long one. The campus is set amidst nature, with lots of trees and a lake and rough trails. The children are all dressed in play-ready clothes, and the school has a tranquil ashram-like quality about it.

One advantage of having play areas and space is that I see that the girls are very active. There is a long gym rope in one playground, and I see a girl swing on the rope with great dexterity – it gives me great pleasure to see a girl who is not half-hearted in her movements – she has not bought into the discourse that says that women must be self-conscious. The dance class we see conducted outdoors in a hut-like structure has male participants and they are again not half-hearted.  The gender micro-level messages from Valley are quite heartening.

The literature class in 6^th grade was also interesting in that I noticed that the whole class participated whole-heartedly in the discussion. There were quite a few of us in the class, but the class was lost in the discussion. The dynamics of the class were such that neither the girls nor the boys dominated the discussion, though the teacher called on girls only to read the texts, not sure if this was coincidence or not.  In the sixth grade, the children were aware of words like oxymoron, and quite receptive to picking out interesting phrases or thinking about where the story was proceeding.