Rama Kant Rai*
National Coalition for Education – INDIA

 

1. Introduction
The SDG agenda:
India is a signatory of many international instruments and covenants to safeguard the right of children, particularly the unorganized sector. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development represents the highest aspirations for a bright future for the world’s children and is a crucial opportunity to realize the rights of the child worldwide. It provides a clear framework for implementation and aims to improve children’s lives through a universal agenda with clear goals and targets. Fulfilling children’s rights is a prerequisite for realizing the 2030 Agenda¹

Leaving No Child Behind A critical element of the 2030 Agenda is the commitment to “leave no one behind,” especially those in vulnerable situations. This includes children in difficult circumstance. By pledging to leave no one behind, States committed to ensure equality and reduce inequalities, including through eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices. This principle is grounded in the human rights principles of non-discrimination, equality and dignity, and provides an entry point for protecting and promoting the rights of the child. The 2030 Agenda reaffirms States’ obligations regarding children’s rights by framing implementation in line with obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. The application of human rights standards and principles, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols, are also a crucial means through which the SDGs can be achieved.

It’s a matter of serious concern that despite constitutional guarantees and international covenants a significant number of children from migrant labours are being deprived of education and schooling in India. Covid-19 led lock down made it more difficult to children of vulnerable migrant labours to realize the right to education in public schools.

Census 2011 highlights the massive challenge in ensuring seasonally migrant children from around 10.7 million households in rural India to complete elementary education. The three states of Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh account for half of the 12.82 million children who have never enrolled in schools; and eight states—Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal account for two-thirds of the 35.62 million children who have dropped out².

Unfortunately there is no exact number of migrant labour and their children out of school as the identification and documentation of such migrants are not done either in home state or host state of employment. It was a great deal of disastrous upheaval during Covid-19 outbreak when millions of unorganized labours were pushed to their village. On 14 September 2020, Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar stated in Parliament that information collected from state governments indicated an estimated 10 million migrants had attempted to return home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdown. He later stated in Parliament on 15 September 2020 that no data was maintained on the number of migrants in the country who had either died, or become unemployed, as a result of the pandemic, “while state wise data was “not available on assistance provided to migrant workers,”. India as a nation responded to the “unprecedented human crisis” through the various governments, local bodies, self-help groups and non-governmental organizations and professionals³.

Hence this internal policy envisages a road map for All India Primary Teachers Federation (AIPTF) for taking proactive initiative by it teachers, union leaders, volunteers, CSOs SMCs and parents to ensure the identification and mainstreaming the migrant children in schools and also to do advocacy for creating awareness and interfacing the welfare schemes to such families.

2. The Unorganized /Migrant labours:
It is grossly estimated that there are 44 Crore labourers working in unorganized sector in India. Unlike organised sector the migrant and unorganized labour faces many difficulties like irregular employment, minimum wages, and lack of safety measures, employer-employee relation, intermittent wages and exploitation like bonded labour. The living condition of migrant /unorganized sector labour are always unhygienic unprotective and unsafe to live.

Despite of the fact that there are many statutes and laws for the unorganized workers, they are still not provided with social security benefits.

Under section 2(m) of the Unorganized Workers Social Security Act, 2008, the term unorganized worker‘ means a home-based worker or a self- employed worker or a wage worker in the unorganized sector. It includes a worker in the organized sector who is not covered by any of the acts pertaining to welfare schemes as mentioned in Schedule II of Unorganized Workers Social Security Act, 2008. Unorganized workers take over the Indian labor market and represent 90% of the total Indian workforce.

Supreme Court on the right to work across the country: In 2014, the Supreme Court in Charu Khurana v. Union of India (Civil Writ Petition No. 73/2013) held that the concept of domicile/residence had no rationale and was in violation of Articles 14 and 15. This reasoning was based on extending an earlier decision on higher education to the present case involving access to employment. In the earlier case, in 1984, a Bench of three judges of the Supreme Court held in Pradeep Jain v. Union of India (Civil Appeal 6392 of 1983) that in case of admission to higher educational institutions, classifying candidates based on their place of residence would be in violation of equality guaranteed by Article 14. The court concluded that ―residence requirement within the State shall not be a ground for reservation in admissions to post graduate courses‖. This was affirmed by a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in 2004 in Saurabh Chaudhri v. Union of India (Civil Writ Petition No. 29/2003).

In another case in 2014, the petitioner, who was a make-up artist, was denied membership of a trade union (Cine Costume Make-up Artists and Hair Dressers Association) on the ground that she was a woman and had not resided in the state (of Maharashtra) for five years. This affected her ability to work as the union had a monopoly over accreditation of make-up artists in the state. She challenged the membership rules of the union as being in violation of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution. The Court held that the provisions of the rules relating to gender and domicile/residence requirement were in violation of Articles 14, 15 and 21. It quashed the impugned rules and directed the Registrar of Trade Unions to ensure that the petitioners were allowed to register as members of the said trade union.

3. Categories of Unorganized/migrant labours:
Unorganized workers have no formal employee status and their workplace is scattered and disintegrated. They are subjected to indebtedness as their income does not meet with their living needs. These workers face exploitation, harassment, discrimination by the rest of the society.

As per the Economic Survey 2007-08, 93% of India’s workforce include the self employed and employed in unorganized sector. The Ministry of Labour, Government of India, has categorized the unorganized labour force under four groups in terms of Occupation, nature of employment, especially distressed categories and service categories.

3.1.Under Terms of Occupation:
Small and marginal farm labours, landless agricultural labourers, share croppers, fishermen, those engaged in animal husbandry, beedi rolling, labeling and packing, building and construction workers, leather workers, weavers, artisans, salt workers, brick kilns and stone quarries, workers in saw mills, oil mills, etc. come under this category.

3.2. Under Terms of Nature of Employment:
Attached agricultural labourers, bonded labourers, migrant workers, contract and casual labourers come under this category.

3.3. Under Terms of Especially Distressed Category:
Mahauts, scavengers, carriers of head loads, drivers of animal driven vehicles, loaders and unloaders come under this category.

In addition to these four categories, there exists a large section of unorganized labour force such as street shoemakers, tailors, Handicraft artisans, Handloom weavers, and physically handicapped self employed persons, Rickshaw pullers, Auto drivers, Carpenters, Tannery workers.

• Though the availability of statistical information on intensity and accuracy vary significantly, the extent of unorganized workers is significantly high among agricultural workers, building and other construction workers and among home based workers. According to the Economic Survey 2007-08 agricultural workers constitute the largest segment of workers in the unorganized sector (i.e. 52% of the total workers).
• As per the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), 30 million workers in India are constantly on the move (migrant labour) and 25.94 million women workforce has been added in the labour market from the year 2000 onwards. All the more every day 13000 Indians turn 60 years and they are expected to live another average of 17years. The problem is that the existing social security laws cover only 8% of the total work force of 459 million in India.
• The latest report of the NSSO uploaded by the close of May 2011 about the casual workers in India between 2004-05 and 2009-10 compared to that of the period between 1999 – 2000 and 2004-05 very clearly shows that there is significant increase in the number of casual workers and decline in the number of regular workers⁴.

4 The Migrant children:
In India every citizen has a right to migrate to any part of country in quest of better job opportunities, education, leisure, marriage and for any prospects. The Constitution of India guarantees all citizens the fundamental right to move freely through the territory of India. The principles of free migration are enshrined in clauses (d) and (e) of Article (19) (1). However all migrations are not for better prospects and by choice but many times the challenges of living conditions and survival threats, natural disasters, riots and epidemics etc are the factors which push the vulnerable people to rush to other places for jobs and survival.

As per NSSO-64th round, out of the total migrant households, 62.7 percent of migrant households have at least one child aged between 0-18 years. Amongst migrant households, 56.6 percent and remaining 43.4 percent households are from urban areas. This indicates that more migrant children reside in rural areas as compared to urban areas. The need to focus on the situation and vulnerabilities experienced by migrant children becomes critical given the magnitude of the child migration⁵.

5. The increasing trend of migration:
As per Census 2011 data, every fifth migrant in India is a child tallying a total population of 92.95 million migrant children. Studies indicate that migrant children between the age of 6-18 years are more vulnerable with higher probabilities of child labour and discontinued educational opportunities. 22.1 percent of migrant children between this age group are not enrolled in any educational institution. Education department’s official documents identify migrant children as the ones who are more prone to dropouts and are often the ‘hardest to reach’ or ‘the most vulnerable category’. Unfortunately the identification of migrant children have never been a priority eiher by local authority, Labour department or Education department⁶

As per Census 2001, child migrants (0– 19 years) form around 13 percent, (60.25 million) of the total population of children while it has increased to 18.9 percent (92.95 million) in Census 2011. Analysis of Census 2011 data reveals that nearly every fifth migrant is a child. Moreover, the decadal growth in child migrants for the Census period 2001 to 2011 is significantly higher (54.3 percent) than the growth for the Census period 1991 to 2001 (35.9 percent). It is also evident that the growth of child migrants was significantly higher than the growth of child population during the same period i.e. 18.5 percent between 1991-2001 and 6.3 percent between 2001- 2011. According to Census 2011, a majority of child migrants (0-19 years) were enumerated in rural areas (56.0 percent) compared to urban areas (44.0 percent), similar to Census 2001 (59.9 percent child migrants enumerated in rural areas).

6. Education level amongst Child Migrants
Contrary to common belief, both migrant boys and migrant girls (0-19 years) have higher literacy rates (58.7 percent as per Census 2001 and 63.4 percent as per Census 2011), compared to non-migrants (49.4 percent as per Census 2001 and 57.7 percent as per Census 2011). While literacy amongst child migrants in the age-group 0-14 years is greater (52.3 percent) compared to non-migrants (48.4 percent) as per Census 2011, the literacy rate amongst 15-19 years old migrant children is lower (87.5 percent) compared to non-migrants (89.2 percent). However, more migrant children (22.5 percent) are completing secondary schooling in comparison to non-migrant children (15.0 percent) according to Census 2011 analysis⁷.

7. Reasons of migration.
As per Census 2011, 0.26 percent of all migrant children in the age group of 0-14 years are engaged in work/ employment while an additional 0.05 percent is engaged in business. Though this appears to be a small percentage, this equates to significant number of children (i.e. 1,97,64,550) working in this age group of 0-14 years. Data from Census 2021 might be able to present the latest picture and the impact of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 on the incidences of child labour⁸. (ibid)

8. Fact sheet on migrant labour

• As per Census 2011, there are 455.78 million migrants in India. Women form a large majority of migrants (67.9 percent) and marriage is a prominent reason for their migration.
• India is home to nearly 92.95 million migrant children (Census 2011).
• Across India, every fifth migrant is a child (Census 2011).
• More girls constitute child migrants (50.6 percent) as compared to boys (Census 2011).
• Five out of 10 migrant girls constituting 6.39 million, in the age group 10-19 years, were reported to be married in Census 2011.
• Rural to rural migration is the most common stream of flow for child migrants, while urban to urban migration has emerged as a second preferred movement by child migrants in Census 2011, contrary to rural to urban migration in Census 2001.
• Larger number of migrant children are located in rural areas (56.0 percent) compared to urban locations (44.0 percent) in Census 2011.
• Vast heterogeneity exists amongst migrant households and migrant children.
• Young migrant children (0-5 years) are less likely to be stunted, underweight and less likely to suffer from diarrhea compared to non-migrant children (NFHS 4, 2015-16). (ibid)

9. IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON CHILDREN
The impact of migration on children of migrated families is a serious policy concern for the authorities involved in child welfare and development. Migrant children may be affected by poverty, poor living conditions, isolation from mainstream society, break in continuity of education and low self-esteem related to trauma of moving from a known environment to an unknown one. Migration has differential impacts on children of different age groups, such as;

i. The Children of migrant labours in 0-6 years of ages are deprived of health, nutrition and pre-school education. They lack birth certificate, immunization, health facilities etc., resulting in acute malnourishment, sickness and mortality. They also lack access to Anganwadis, crèche, safe drinking water, sanitation, etc.
ii. Children of 6-14 years are increasingly school dropouts having no access to schools in the place of work, and denial of schooling leads to engagement of children in various other activities that include work on site with the members of the family causing health hazards, exploitation and abuse.
iii. The migration workers generally stay at the site of the work along with their family for limited periods of time varying from three to six months and then move to another construction site. In this field the general pattern of migration is that “women and children have always featured as ‘associated’ migrants with the main decision to migrate having been taken by the male of the household”.
iv. Migration has hardly any connection with academic calendars of school education and migrant children can be admitted at any time in the schools.
v. Frequency of migration varies on a large scale based on the skill sets of parents and their requirement at the sites of construction.
vi. Geographic scope of migration for the construction workers vary widely and can be intra or inter-state in nature.

With increased mechanizations the work at the sites is restricted mostly to the male members. The women folk usually either stay at home or sometimes even work within the local community outside the construction site. All these constraints contribute to manifold challenges. Mid-term admission of any child in any school becomes extremely difficult. Escorting the children to school and ensuring regular attendance is problematic. All these challenges ultimately result in failure of the RTE Act, 2009 in most cases for this segment of society⁹.

10. CHALLENGES OF EDUCATION OF THE MIGRANT LABOUR CHILDREN
After the formation of the National Policy on Education (NEP) in 1986, serious attempts were made for the Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) in India. Flexible schooling options for disadvantaged sections of children in the form of the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Alternative & Innovative Education Scheme (AIE) under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) were initiated. The traditional reasons for exclusion from schooling, such as caste, gender, remoteness of location etc., have been attended by these schemes. But another category of disadvantaged section of children who have not received proper attention even under these schemes is the migrant labour children. Due to drought and other environmental issues the rural livelihoods collapsed in many parts of India and hundreds of thousands of families are being forced out of their homes and villages in search of work every year. The migrants are forced to take their children also along with them. They become drop-out of school ending their opportunity for education. As a result of large-scale enrolment drives the names of many migrant children are now on school rolls, but in reality they are often out of school, migrating to other work places with their parents. The environmental degradation and drought have led to more migration from North Indian states to states like Kerala, where there are more employment opportunities. The education of children is one of the most important issues related to migration. Most of the migrant labourers shift their place of employment from one to another. On account of this mobility in employment these children are difficult to trace, and are therefore easily left out of the standard systemic intervention of the education system.

In India the Right to Education is a fundamental right after the 86th Amendment to the Constitution in 2002. Through the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme, the government is working to achieve Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE). In spite of all these developments one category of children who are not being properly attended is migrant labour children. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and the state education departments do not even have sufficient data with respect to this category of children. Urgent steps are thus needed for uplifting their education¹⁰.

11. EDUCATION AS
A HUMAN RIGHT
In all societies and throughout human history education has been regarded both as an end in itself and as a means for the individual and society to grow. The recognition of education as a human right is the outcome of the realization that education is indispensable to the preservation and enhancement of the inherent dignity of the human being. Several international, regional and national legal instruments recognize the right to education¹¹. (ibid)

11.1. The National Policy for children 2013
Declaring its children as the nation’s “supremely important asset” in the National Policy for Children, 1974, the Government of India reiterated its commitment to secure the rights of its children by ratifying related international conventions and treaties. These include the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its Covenants, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two Optional Protocols, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Women and Children, the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Inter-Country Adoption, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The National Charter for Children, 2003 adopted on 9th February 2004, underlined the intent to secure for every child its inherent right to be a child and enjoy a healthy and happy childhood, to address the root causes that negate the healthy growth and development of children, and to awaken the conscience of the community in the wider societal context to protect children from all forms of abuse, while strengthening the family, society and the Nation.

To affirm the Government’s commitment to the rights based approach in addressing the continuing and emerging challenges in the situation of children, the Government of India adopted the National Policy for Children, 2013.

11.2 National Education Policy 2020.
Principles of this Policy: The purpose of the education system is to develop good human beings capable of rational thought and action, possessing compassion and empathy,. However, at the same time, there must also be seamless integration and coordination across institutions and across all stages of education. Alternative and innovative education centres will be put in place in cooperation with civil society to ensure that children of migrant labourers, and other children who are dropping out of school due to various circumstances are brought back into mainstream education.

The second is to achieve universal participation in school by carefully tracking students, as well as their learning levels, in order to ensure that they (a) are enrolled in and attending school, and (b) have suitable opportunities to catch up and re-enter school in case they have fallen behind or dropped out. For providing equitable and quality education from the Foundational Stage through Grade 12 to all children up to the age of 18, suitable facilitating systems shall be put in place¹².

12. INTERNATIONAL COVENANTS
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, „Everyone has the right to education.” In addition, it says that it shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit, and technical and professional education shall be made generally available. The UDHR also stipulates that education should be directed towards the full development of the human personality and the enhancement of respect for human rights. Finally, it acknowledges that parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children. Education is both a human right in itself and an indispensable means of realizing other human rights. As an empowerment right, education is the primary vehicle by which economically and socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and obtain the means to participate fully in their communities. Education has a vital role in empowering women, safeguarding children from exploitative and hazardous labour and sexual exploitation, promoting human rights and democracy, protecting the environment, and controlling population growth. Increasingly, education is recognized as one of the best financial investments States can make. But the importance of education is not just practical: a well-educated, enlightened and active mind, able to wander freely and widely, is one of the joys and rewards of human existence¹³.

According to United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), a child is defined as “a human being below the age of 18 years unless, under the law applicable to child majority is attained earlier.” In India also, a child attains majority at the age of 18 years. However, the definition varies in the address of various legal provisions. The working age group of 15 to 59 years as defined by the Census of India is the most commonly accepted and it clearly indicates that the population below 15 years (0-14 years) is treated as “child”. Different Acts under labour laws declare different age criteria but the Factories Act 1948, the Apprentices Act 1961 and the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act 1986 declare 14 years as the upper age limit of a child¹⁴.

Recommendations

To make right to education a reality for all in India, examining and addressing the issues surrounding migrant children,dropped-out, never enrolled, and Out-of-School children is essential. Here are some key aspects to consider:

1. Making schooling available in all settings: Ensuring access to education is crucial for all children, regardless of whether they have dropped out, never been enrolled, or are currently out of school. Efforts should focus on identifying and reaching out to children who are not enrolled or have dropped out and providing them opportunities to enter or re-enter the education system.

2. Identification of children and enrolment drive Emphasis should be placed on increasing enrollment rates and ensuring that children stay in school until they complete their education. Strategies should target communities and groups with low enrollment rates, addressing factors such as poverty, gender discrimination, and social barriers that hinder enrollment and retention.

3. Equity and Inclusion: Achieving universal school education requires addressing disparities and promoting equity and inclusion. Efforts should focus on marginalized communities, economically disadvantaged families, girls, children with disabilities, and other vulner 3. Equity and Inclusion: Achieving universal school education requires addressing disparities and promoting equity and inclusion. Efforts should focus on marginalized communities, economically disadvantaged families, girls, children with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups. Particular attention should be given to removing barriers that prevent these children from accessing education.

4. Quality Education: Universal school education is not just about enrollment numbers but also the quality of education. Efforts should be made to ensure that children receive high-quality. Improving teaching standards, infrastructure, learning materials, and curriculum relevance is essential to quality education.

5. Multi-stakeholder Collaboration: Addressing the challenges related to dropped-out, never enrolled, and Out-of-School children require collaboration among various stakeholders. The Government, educational institutions, civil society organizations, community leaders, parents, and teachers must work together to identify barriers, implement effective interventions, and monitor progress toward achieving universal education.

6. Implementation Gaps: Inadequate infrastructure, lack of qualified teachers, and bureaucratic inefficiencies hinder the effective implementation of educational policies and programs.

7. Strengthening Infrastructure: Expanding the reach of schools, improving facilities, and providing safe transportation options.

8. Teacher Training and Recruitment: Enhancing teacher training programs and ensuring adequate recruitment and retention of qualified teachers.

9. Article 26 of UHDR: Massive campaign should be organized to influence UN to amend article 26 so as to make right to education as state responsibility only.

10. Research and Data: Ongoing research and data collection are crucial for understanding the factors contributing to the dropout, never enrolled, and out-of-school rates. Regular monitoring and evaluation of programs and policies can provide insights into their effectiveness and guide future interventions.

11. Regulatory activities: State should oversea the implementation of RtE 2009 and be responsive towards regulatory role.

12. Adequate resources: Adequate resources should be made available for accomplishment of SDG 4 goals within the stipulated time.

* The Author is convener at National Coalition for Education (NCE) India and can be accessed (cosar.lko@gmail.com) (m)+91 7011255324