Page 41 - Tehelka Issue 15 August 2018

repatriation

dren going to NRSTC said that they did 5. Teachers/education volunteers, from homes. “There is no system for waste-
not have access to mid-day meal daily the community, should be recruited disposal and as a result, daily waste is
while another 20 per cent in govern- to work in the schools in proposed vil- scattered across the camps, which might
ment schools and 8 per cent respondents lages of Mizoram to ensure continuity be leading to various diseases among the
enrolled in NRSTCs said they did not re- and to bridge the language barrier. residents of the camps. It said that the
ceive mid-day meal at all. . the proposed villages for the Bru com-
The QCI survey said the basic edu- Healthcare: munity in Mizoram should be assessed
cational requirements of children, as Of the three public health centres near by a competent body based on proper
defined in RTE Act, 2009, are not being the relief camps, two were found to sanitation, sewage and waste disposal
fulfilled in the existing camps of north be functional at Khedacherra and the facilities to ensure clean, hygienic and
Tripura. Almost 40 per cent of the chil- Gachiram Para. healthy living conditions for the com-
dren studying in NRSTCs and Govern- “The condition of healthcare is deplor- munity after their repatriation within six
ment schools of north Tripura do not able in the camps. Some of the common months and in case any deficiency is de-
receive books every year. types of diseases prevalent in the camps tected, necessary augmentation should
“Also, they do not have any educa- are malaria, measles, respiratory diseas- be completed within a time span of 12
tional institutions beyond grade V in or es and diarrhea. Residents of the relief months. “Bru community members do
near the camps. And since as many as camps are entitled to receive medicines not have adequate knowledge about the
7000 children are planned to be repat- free of cost, but 97per cent respondents, proposed villages in Mizoram and are
riated to Mizoram, it is expected to put said that they did not receive medicines prone to misinformation and rumours
a lot of strain on the existing resources spread by stakeholders with vested inter-
in the proposed villages. Hence, existing ests in keeping the community in make-
educational institutions in the proposed Since as many shift camps in Tripura. Hence, serious
villages in Mizoram should be assessed, as 7,000 children attempts should be made by Mizoram
based on parameters: government to build confidence among
are planned to the Brus residing in the camps,” said the
1. The current number of educational be repatriated survey report.
institutions as well as their capacity Listing security in Mizoram as one of
in the proposed villages in Mizoram to Mizoram, it is the most important concerns of the com-
should be assessed to ensure adequate expected to put a munity, the survey said members of the
capacity to accommodate all 7000 community should be included in dif-
children of Bru community along with lot of strain on the ferent administrative committees at the
the existing student population in the police station, district and state levels in
respective villages. existing resources in Mizoram to instill the sense of security.
the proposed villages
2. Availability of basic requirements such Skills Development:
as books, qualified teachers and in- Majority of the residents do not have
frastructure should be an important from the authorities. Nearly 34per cent any vocational skills and those who are
part of the assessment to ensure ad- of the respondents said that vaccination skilled are not certified, and this is ham-
equate resources and facilities in the had not been provided to their children pering their employability. The QCI sur-
institutions. during their growth years,” it said. vey recommended that a mechanism
The survey recommended that man- should be developed to link the skilled
3. Make-up classes and bridge courses datory tests and check-ups of the chil- labour with the prospective employers
should be organised to bridge the age- dren of the community should be con- and fill the demand-supply gap between
appropriate-class gap in the children ducted after repatriation to identify the employers’ requirements and qualifica-
of the community. number of cases of Anaemia, Haemoglo- tions of the labour force. “Recognition
bin levels of children, the percentage of of Prior Learning (RPL) platform, under
4. As the mother tongue of the people of children who have received deworming Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
the Bru/Reang community is Bru lan- etc. and it should be ensured that ade- (PMKVY), should be implemented to cer-
guage, the medium of instruction and quate remedies and healt hcare are pro- tify or provide bridge courses to the com-
the textbooks provided in educational vided to the children of the community. munity members, to enable them to get
institutions should be in Bru language better employment opportunities in the
as per the RTE provisions. Other lan- Sanitation: future. Government is recommended to
guages such as English, Hindi and Mizo Ninety-eight per cent of the respond- encourage big industrial players to set up
should also be taught in schools to en- ents said they do not have access to clean job fairs in these camps,” the report said.
able them to study or work anywhere drinking water. Most of the respondents
across the country. had temporary toilets built beside their letters@tehelka.com

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