COVID-19 Emergency: Prevent Return to Child Labour

The Economic Situation

The cotton harvesting season has just come to an end in the villages across Telangana State. The harvest was low this year, both as a result of heavy rain and the limited number of workers out in the fields due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To maintain social distancing measures and reduce labour costs, the cotton labour force was approximately 50% smaller than a typical year.

At the end of the cotton harvest season, day labourers would normally leave the village to go work in the city, but this year they cannot move beyond state borders. As such, many people cannot reach their usual work destinations. Without these jobs, their debts are likely to rise. Right now, relatives are trying to help each other. We have been providing ration kits and food assistance which is a crucial form of support during a time of little-to-no access to income.

Anxiety levels in the communities amid the pandemic varies household to household. Some people are afraid of getting infected and are reluctant to go out to work. Many children live in households where parents or older family members firmly restrict life at home. However, as the number of people working in the cotton fields continue to decrease (since there is no money to pay wages), some people are trying to get their children to work instead (as they do not receive any money for their work). The project staff and resident volunteers are doing rounds, inspecting fields and talking with children (and their parents) to ensure they are not returning to the fields and their rights are being protected.

What’s Happening with Children’s Education?

School have been closed since the lockdown at the end of March. In Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh state, the 9th and 10th grade were initially allowed to go back to school in November, however, one school saw an outbreak of the infection and so all were closed again. They were scheduled to reopen in December, but this has yet again been pushed back indefinitely.

Online classes accessible via smartphones are being provided by the state government during this period. However, in rural areas like where PEACE-India operates, children do not have phones. Even in households where parents own a phone, only one child can view an online class at one time which is limiting for families with children in various grades. This means educational disparities will widen even further between wealthy and poor families. There have also been incidents where children have borrowed a neighbour’s phone and been meeting up to learn together, resulting in tensions arising within communities as groups of children have been gathering in households and out on the street – breaching social distancing measures. With schools closed and strict constraints within households, there is no place for children in the villages. As such, the project has been giving extra attention to providing emotional and psychological support to children.

ACE and SPEED have also been providing support for children to study at home. This includes school supplies and study support via home visits (conducted in compliance with social distancing and other infection prevention measures). We also provide colouring books and other forms of indoor stimulation for children who were working and were not receiving an education before the pandemic (since they cannot read or write). 

Moving Forward

Our field staff are always being asked by the children when the bridge school will re-open. We haven't been able to open the bridge school yet because we are required to follow the same rules as the public-school system, but we would like to restart as early as possible and provide a place where children can feel safe and at ease.

Since we are very concerned that many children will not be able to return to school and instead will become child labourers even after schools are reopened, the field staff are calling on residents to not only keep their children at home but to be active within their communities to check that other children in their neighbourhoods are protected from child labour.