For as long as she can remember, 22-year-old Reena has seen her father, Sethram Nirala, struggle to feed the family with the income from his small farmland. Her village Sakrali, in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir Champa district, lies near the Mahanadi river. It is prime land for growing paddy, but for many of the small and marginal farmers, mostly dalits, life is hard. Without any irrigation system in place, everything depends on the rains. Some of the farmers have taken to growing vegetables, but this too does not yield enough to make ends meet. Seasonal migration is high. Many of these farmers work as agricultural labour or in brick kilns in states such as Punjab and J&K.

After completing Std XII at the local government school, Shaskiya Ucchtar Madhyamik Vidyalaya, Reena could not study further. “How could I ask my father to support my studies when we don’t have enough money for our basic needs?” she laments. This is the story of many young girls in Sakrali. “I was lucky that I studied up to senior secondary. Then we had a big tragedy — my mother died. None of my younger sisters could go to school,” says Radhika Baghel, whose father, a small farmer, has been forced to migrate for work, leaving his young daughters behind in the village. At 19, Radhika is gloomy about her future. She is keen to study further, but knows she will not be able to. For Reena, Radhika and many other girls in the area, poverty is not just material deprivation but also signifies a loss of hope — the hope for higher education.

There are some in the village community who believe that girls are only meant to get married and look after their families. But this is not the predominant view. The biggest stumbling block, locals say, is the poverty, the lack of livelihoods and the continuing migration.

Says Sukhbai, aged 40, “It is only when it rains that we get something from our small piece of land. There is no other way to earn money here. Under MGNREGA, we get work for only 8-10 days, and we are paid only after six months. It is very difficult.” Sukhbai’s husband is a marginal farmer who had to migrate for work. She remained in the village with her three children — two boys and a girl. “I sent them to the village school but am not able to educate them further,” she says.

At the policy level though, the picture is encouraging. There are State government programmes such as the Student Insurance Plan, Free Uniform and Library Scheme to support school education. The Saraswati Cycle Yojana encourages girls to attend school by giving them a free bicycle. The post-matric scholarships enable children from SC families to continue their school education. There are provisions for graduate and postgraduate education. Options are also available for technical, vocational education, and skill development.

Yet the girls in this region find themselves caught between economic hardship and lack of access to educational services. Says Lakhan Lal Kurrey, a 50-year-old marginal farmer, “Why can’t poor families be given support to educate their children beyond schooling?” Dujje Ram, also a farmer, says, “The government should provide accommodation and meals to children from poor families so that their studies are not affected due to a bad agricultural season.”

Despite the poverty and deprivation, the community here remains invested in the future of its young. And it has got it right — an educated and empowered youth could very well become game changers in the region’s development.

Charkha Features

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