18th May 2014

Courtesy: The Hindu

Former child workers make a mark

Gopal once worked as a bonded labourer and Mahalakshmi made matchboxes

S. Gopal was 11 years old when he was indentured as a bonded labourer in a weaving unit near his house in Namakkal district for three years for just Rs.15,000. His family needed the money for the marriage of his third elder sister’s marriage.

His day of deliverance came when his differently abled elder brother Kathirvel scored 491 marks in the SSLC examinations and used his cash price of Rs. 10,000 to redeem his brother.

On Friday, Gopal proved for the second time what he is capable of. After scoring 471 marks in the SSLC examinations, he has secured 1,144 marks in the Plus Two examinations.

The story of S. Mahalakshmi of Sivakasi, who has scored 1068 marks, is also no different. When children of her age were practising the alphabet, she was making matchboxes to augment her family income.

Both Gopal and Mahalakshmi entered the corridors of education at the intervention of officials of the National Child Labour Project (NCLP).

Seven students, who once supported their families as child labourers, have scored more than 1,000 marks in the Plus Two examinations and are waiting to join professional courses. Former child labourers were re-admitted to schools after completing a three-year bridge course at a special training centre (STC).

“My brother Kathirvel, a differently abled person, is my role model. He scored 1,165 in the Plus-Two examinations in 2011 and is doing MBBS at Stanley Medical College, Chennai,” said Gopal, expressing his desire to become a veterinarian or a dentist.

Gopal, a student of the Government Higher Secondary School for Boys at Vennanthur in Namakkal, said he decided to apply for re-totalling in Mathematics and Chemistry as he expected a better score.

Mahalakshmi continued to lag behind and realised her potential only in Class VIII after tireless efforts. “It was not easy for me to follow the subjects along with other children,” she said, recalling her days in school.