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From brick kiln to classrooms, learning journey begins for 30 underprivileged kids
Life for 30 underprivileged children in Ferozepur, was all about the realms of brick making, till the time District Legal Services Authority intervened to provide them free of cost education.
Life for 30 underprivileged children in Ferozepur, was all about the realms of brick making, till the time District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) intervened to provide them free of cost education.
Bringing children of brick kiln workers into the mainstream by the DLSA in this district, is ensuring that free and compulsory education is no more a distant dream for these kids.
In a reachout campaign, DLSA Ferozepur launched a campaign to identify children deprived of school education.
“As Ferozepur is an aspirational district so as per guidelines, we adopted a remote village Gatti Basti Masta under Mamdot, located about 35 km away from its district Ferozepur to make people aware about facilities rendered by DLSA,” said Virinder Aggarwal, district and session Judge cum chairperson DLSA, Ferozepur.
“During visit to the village in the second week of January, we found many kids playing there and when enquired why they did not go to school we got to know that they had never been to school in their life,” said Aggarwal.
“During ground survey all were found to be kids of labourers working at a brick kiln factory of the village including 14 girls out of total 30 kids,” he added.
He said the initiative has been undertaken in coordination with the education department.
“Under the programme “Andheron Say Ujjalo Kee Aur” (to light from darkness) special counseling sessions were held the parents of all these students and matter was taken up with the local education department to facilitate all amenities required to provide them education,” he added. “All 30 students aged between 5 to 10 years were admitted at government primary school, Ghatta Masta and provided with free books, bags besides uniform,” he said.
He said apart from education, the underprivileged children will be provided with other facilities.
“The kids will not be just education but we will also provide them all services rendered by the government,” said Aggarwal. “Out of these 30 children, a visually disabled student has been identified and will be provided with disability pension besides eye care,” said Aggarwal.
Secretary DLSA cum chief judicial magistrate, Ferozepur, Ekta Uppal, said more such children will be identified in days to come for providing them quality education.
“Now we have launched a complete campaign to identify rest of such students and till today we have identified 489 students who all will be admitted into respective schools by next academic session with books, bags and uniforms,” said Uppal, who is heading the ground survey in all brick kiln factories as well as slum areas of district.
For the children, transformation from brick kilns to classroom has done wonders.
“My hands and head used to be aching while working in the brick kilns but it’s not there when I write,” says Jamuna, an eight years old, one of the 30 beneficiaries.
Most of the parents too are happy to see their children studying. “I want my daughter to study and complete her schooling. Why does she need to work when my wife and I are working already?” asks Jatinder Shahada, a parent who wants to give his children a better future.
