Cotton production affects children's education in T'gana's Gadwal

Telangana cotton farmers force their children to drop out of school and work in cotton fields to increase cotton production.

Gadwal:Telangana's Jogulamba Gadwal district is noted for producing cotton with its high-quality cotton seed, the suitable soil condition, water and rainfall.

The place has seen a spurt of cotton mills with immense improvement in its production. The large growth in cotton production has also led to farmers avoiding the cultivation of other cash crops.

Although on one hand there is a thriving cotton production in the state, one the other, there has been a steady increase in the number of school dropouts in the place, invariably linked to increasing cotton cultivation.

Here, cotton farmers force their children to drop out of schools for at least two months in order to help them in cotton fields. Huge labour is required for 60 days during the pollination due to which parents make their kids work on the fields from morning 6 am to 5 pm in the evening.

Taking cognizance of the situation, the District Collector along with the Superintendent of Police have given instructions of doing rounds in and around the village that might help to put an end to the ill-practice of child labour.

The government has also issued a directive to file cases against people who employ children on fields (including their parents) after learning the seriousness of the issue.

Another NGO working for children education, named MV Foundation (MVF) initiated volunteering wherein individuals work as 'motivators' to help stop child labour and counsel the parents to send their children to school regularly.

However, the ground reality still remains the same.

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