The Andhra Pradesh government has set up a Non-Residential Special Training Centre (NRSTC) to guarantee education for fisherfolk children, including school dropouts, on Edurlamma Lanka, a tiny island in the Godavari, near Rajamahendravaram city.
The island has a population of around 200 who migrated from Yanam town in Puducherry Union Territory and settled on the island to eke out a living through fishing.
On August 16, The Hindu published an article headlined An island in the Godavari where the tricolor has stopped fluttering for years, in these columns, bringing to light the fact that the island has stopped celebrating Independence Day and Republic Day in the absence of a school for over four years.
Reacting to the article, Andhra Pradesh and Yanam authorities swung into action and conducted a survey on the island, documenting the present state of access to education and the livelihood options of the residents.
Collector’s initiative
“All the families living on Edurlamma Lanka are natives of Yanam (Puducherry Union Territory). The children on the island are already enrolled at schools in Yanam. However, we have set up an NRSTC on a temporary facility to guarantee access to school education. A teacher has also been appointed on August 21 to run the centre on a daily basis,” said East Godavari District Collector K. Madhavilatha.
The children who were earlier enrolled in the Yanam schools have dropped out of school and are now living with their parents on this island. The parents do not send their children to nearby schools in Rajamahendravaram city as it will entail having to cross the river by boat, which will cost money.
“As many as 19 children have enrolled at the NRSTC as of August 22. We have distributed Jagananna Vidya Kanuka kits, which comprise a bag, textbooks and notebooks, uniforms, shoes, and a dictionary. A tailor would also be sent to the island to stitch the uniforms for the children,” Ms. Madhavilatha said.
Alert to Yanam
“As the children keep shuttling between the island and Yanam, I have requested the Yanam administrator to initiate measures to take care of the education of these migrants whenever they go to reside there,” Ms. Madhavilatha told The Hindu.
East Godavari District Education Officer S. Abraham said that all necessary permissions would be obtained from the concerned authorities for setting up permanent education facilities on the island. The teacher has been drawn from a government school to run the NRST.
“I have received a request from the East Godavari District Collector regarding the school issue. We will visit Edurlamma Lanka on August 28 to assess the possibilities for our intervention,” Yanam Regional Administrator R. Mounassamy told The Hindu.
