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Transitional Education for Child Labourers in India



In India, child labourers in the 9-13 age range that are withdrawn from work by government National Child Labour Projects (NCLP) or through projects such as the INDUS Project, implemented by the government of India, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) are enrolled in Transitional Education Centres (TEC).

While the 5-8 year old child workers can be mainstreamed directly into the government’s formal school system, the 9-13 year olds may never have attended school before, or have been out-of-school for some period of time and may not have accessed the Ministry of Education’s bridging initiatives within their districts - the Education Guaranteed Scheme (EGIS) or Alternative Innovative Education (AIE). Children in this age group that have been withdrawn from hazardous work may have access to the NCLP special schools, devised under the Ministry of Labour and Employment mandate to provide non-formal education initiatives as a pathway into the MOE’s formal schools under their Education for All scheme. Hence, the INDUS Project established TECs. TECs offer the regular school syllabus to Class 5 over a period of two years. The State Education Department provides textbooks (as used in formal schools) to the TECs.

Transitional Education Centres were designed by the INDUS Project, using the NCLP approach, to enable children removed from hazardous work to receive appropriate schooling that prepares them to be mainstreamed into the regular government schools. Examinations usually occur after summer holidays in July to assess whether children are ready for mainstreaming or not. If a minimum number of 15 children from a TEC class are ready for mainstreaming, they will transition, in one group, to a formal government school in their neighbourhood. The vacancies created enables additional children to be removed from work and enrolled in the TEC.

The average student to staff ratio in the TECs was kept low at 1:10 which was substantially lower than the student to staff ratio of formal schools (1:34). The low student to staff ratio enables students to receive quality education in accordance with their social, physical, mental, and academic needs. The focus is to prepare them academically to mainstream into formal schools, and due to this concentrated, specific aim, all participants work toward the same goal, with major success.

Some of the ‘push’ factors that keep students from schools include: (1) poverty; (2) parental pressure to work; (3) parental migration to seasonal work regions; (4) the quality of education; (5) the quality of teachers; (6) negative classroom discipline; (7) pregnancy; (8) marriage; (9) care of siblings or sick parents; and (10) the pressure of being a head of household to financial support siblings. A summary of the ‘pull’ factors to attract children into the TECs include: (1) access to education; (2) stipend; (3) pre-vocational activities; (4) Life Skills education; (5) Activity-Based Learning; (5) low student to staff ratio; (6) free health care, (7) free midday meals; (8) transport to school; (9) close location to Lead School and the students’ community; (10) school materials including uniforms; and (11) the support of private organisations.

Good Practices and Lessons Learned
The convergence between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour and Employment at the district level were essential to ensure that the TECs could operate effectively and could work with the nearby formal schools, the Lead Schools, to mainstream and retain students. This included the district authorities assisting with the identification of Lead Schools and approving the supply of formal school textbooks for the TECs, as well as collaborating on the preparation of training modules for TEC teachers and providing instructions to Lead School teachers for the process of mainstreaming (such as regular examinations). District officials also issued requirements for the follow-up of mainstreamed students by the TEC teachers for up to a year after mainstreaming. Private organisations also assisted with educational support, thus enhancing convergence at all levels of the community.

The teacher training modules on child labour issues, as well as child-focused teaching strategies and innovative teaching and learning methodologies were well received and appreciated. The modules were professionally produced and structured in a manner that facilitated easy adoption of principles and practices. Teachers indicated that they were using the methodologies after their training and that they had contributed toward easier management of classes, and more interest by the students.
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