Children of migrant workers at a residential care centre in Balangir district. Telegraph picture

Balangir, May 27: Residential care centres run by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan of the state government have come as a boon for children of migrant workers of Balangir district.

At present, some 2,100 children of the migrant families are provided logistic support and imparted free education in 72 such centres in Balangir district. According to a conservative estimate, some 2.5 lakh people in the districts of Balangir, Sonepur, Bargarh and Boudh migrate to other states for livelihood. Along with them, some 40,000 children of the age group of six to 14 years also leave their village and school behind. They discontinue their studies and are made to work as child labours mostly in the brick kilns of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

But now, with the government opening residential care centres, these children can see a ray of hope. This year, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan opened 84 residential care centres in Balangir, in which about 2,400 kids of migrant workers were admitted. The district project coordinator of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan of Balangir, Susanta Kumar Chopdaar, said 84 such centres were opened for the children of the migrant families in the district.

“We now have 2,145 children in 72 residential care centres. We had opened 84 centres this year, but 12 centres have been closed as their parents have taken them home. We normally open the residential care centres in the month of January and keep the children there till the return of their parents in May or June,” Chopdaar said.

Rights and education activists, however, ask for more. They say migration should be treated as a disaster just like cyclone and flood.

Convener of the Western Orissa Migration Network (WOMN) Sanjay Mishra asked if shelter homes could be built in the cyclone-affected areas a few years ago, why should not there be disaster homes in this part of the state where migration was a regular phenomenon. “Disaster homes should be built for children of migrant workers where they should be provided logistic and boarding support. Taking care of the children by the care centres should be made mandatory,” Mishra said.

He further said children of migrant workers should be given quality education. “Migrant workers’ children should be ensured quality education so that they can compete with general student of the same class. It should be like a special package for these children,” he said.

The Telegraph, while visiting some residential care centres, however, found that many of the centres were running satisfactorily. At centres in Chhuenara, Babejuri and Muribahal, the children were being taught drawing and singing.