No online classes, children take up odd jobs in Malshej

With the residents of adivasi padas in Malshej losing their livelihoods during lockdown, the children in the families are now helping parents in earning daily meals. As digital education has not reached these areas, the children are forced to work.

Adivasi padas such as Shiravali and five padas near Tokawade village are facing severe scarcity due to loss of income since the past several months. Families who were selling vegetables, food items on the street to travellers, are now left with no option as all picnic spots are closed due to the pandemic. In addition, these areas face severe electricity issues, pushing the chance of digital education further away for the children residing here.

Jayesh Pawar, a social worker, said, “Children of Shiravali village have started fishing or taking u other small work around the area to earn money for daily chores. I came to know about it when I found these children were using mosquito nets to catch fish and earn ₹30 to ₹40 by selling it. When the school started here a few years back, I convinced all parents to send their children to school. But now we cannot see these children as they lost their touch with school. It has become a difficult task for all of us to find them again and make them realise the importance of education.”

Satish Thakare, a 10-year-old from Tokavade village who has been fishing for the past two months, said, “I joined the school four years ago but continued only for a year. Now I enjoy fishing, as my school is closed.”

However, after seeing a lecture on a mobile phone, he got excited and said, “I would like to learn this.”

A zilla parishad officer from Malshej said, “Our teachers and staff along with social workers would visit every adivasi pada and make the children sit in the school with several innovative ideas to attract them. Now due to Covid-19 duty, staff remain less and it’s hard to reach out to every Adivasi padas.”