Come pepper harvest season, children of migrant workers in Karnataka miss school

“My teacher contacted me over the phone and scolded me for missing class. But what can I do? I cannot stay alone in my village when my parents are here,” said a class 8 student from Ballari district of Karnataka. At present, the boy lives in a makeshift tent along the road connecting Chikkamagaluru and Adlur.

He is among the hundreds of children from central and north Karnataka districts who miss school for a couple of months as they accompany their parents, who move to the Malnad districts to work in coffee estates during the pepper harvest season.

Sibling care

Many families from Davangere, Haveri, and Ballari districts have been living in tents on either side of the road between Chikkamagaluru and Aldur. While the parents go to the estates to harvest black pepper during the day, their children stay in their temporary camp. These camps are filled with children aged two to 13 years. They spend the whole day taking care of their younger siblings. The majority of them have been enrolled in schools in their native villages. However, they miss classes when they accompany their parents to the Malnad districts.

“My mother prepared rice and sambar in the morning before leaving for work. We had the same for lunch. Our parents will come back by evening,” said a class 6 student who currently lives in a tent in Chikkamagaluru.

From tandas

A majority of these migrant workers are from Lambani tandas. With meager land in their native villages, they move out looking for jobs that pay well. Some of them leave their children under the care of their aged parents in their native places.

Harvesting black pepper is a skill. They use ladders to climb up and harvest the pepper without damaging the plants. “The employers pay ₹12 per kilo of pepper harvested. A couple can harvest about 150 kilos a day, earning about ₹900 each,” said Vishnu, a native of Davangere. They hardly earn ₹400 a day in their native places.

The workers are hired through labour contractors — mestris — who act as intermediaries between the estate owners and the workers. They help with local arrangements for accommodation, temporary power supply, and drinking water. However, there are no provisions for the education of children.

Shashidhar Kosambe, Chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, told The Hindu that there have been instances of such children being subjected to various forms of abuse. “They deserve proper care and education. Earlier, there were tent schools for the children of these workers,” he added.

What law says

He stated that he would contact the officials concerned and instruct them to ensure the safety of children, and provide them education. “As per the Right to Education Act, children of migrating workers are tagged to the nearest schools,” he added.