Summary of Findings

 

 

1.      Sending Village Survey

a)      Lower gender ratio, literacy rates, limited options for earning a living, low percentage of irrigated farm land, lack of industrialisation, are all parameters that show the relative backwardness of the survey area.

b)      Many of the villages are lacking in civic facilities especially pucca roads inside villages.

c)      Transport, telephone and water supply are also not available to may villages.

d)      Of 165 villages only 65 have upper primary and 5 have high schools.

2.      Household Survey of Migrating Families

a)      The surveyed sample belongs to same geographical area, has same caste / community religion profile as families of Sending Villages. 

b)      This sample has lower gender ratio, lower educational levels, than overall sending village parameters.

c)      No available alternatives to farming or labour work.

d)      Farming not remunerative because of lack of irrigation.

e)      Migration for sugarcane cutting is an opportunity not a misfortune and is a well established tradition.

f)        As many adult members as possible will migrate as remuneration is proportionate to labour offered.

g)      A negative correlation is found (-0.55) between number of families in a village and extent of migration from the village.

Factors of educational significance -

h)      Numbers of children of different age groups staying back in village indicate that they stay back in order to continue schooling - especially children in 6-10 years and 11-14 years age group.

i)        Higher numbers of migrating children belong to-

a)      pre school age group.

b)      girls older than 9-10 years of age.

j)        This desire to continue children's education is reflected in responses to questions about problems faced during migration, problems regarding schooling in village, expectations from the local schools and reasons given for individuals who do not migrate.

k)      Parents cannot assess quality of schooling.  Availability and accessibility is their concern.

l)        Destinations of migration have not changed over 3 years.  Neither have families worked for different Mukadams in the last three years.

3.      Mukadam survey

a)      Mukadams have been or still are sugarcane cutters.  Hence show understanding and empathy for migrants.

b)      The lending-borrowing transaction with migrating families ensures long term relationships between mukadams and workers.

c)      Many mukadams belong to the same area or are related to families - reported verbally by surveyors.

d)     Mukadams do not report indifference to education of their children on the part of sugarcane cutters.

e)      They express need to make adequate educational facilities available to migrating families.

f)        Express need for compensation for accident victims and for providing water and electricity at destination sites.

 

4.      Village Education Survey

Many villages do not have upper primary and high schools.

a)      Schools meet government norms but government norms are inadequate in educationally impoverished areas.

b)      Some teachers report lack of educational facilities.

c)      Some teachers report bad physical conditions of schools.

d)      Teachers report lack of co-operation, indifference ignorance of parents.  However this is a function of parents poverty and reporting of teachers may reflect their own lack of morale.

e)      Teachers living conditions are unsatisfactory.

f)       Percentages of children absent from school during second terms falls with children's age from Std I to IV.  This supports the finding that parents wish to leave children behind to continue schooling and do so if it is possible.

5.      Children's opinions

Children like their schools and their teachers and very few report negative feelings about them.  Mention is made of  teachers when they use play way methods showing that these are appreciated by the children.  However, teachers using such methods are few in number.

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