God's Own Children

Thousands migrate to Kerala from all over the country in the hope of finding better prospects here. And several do. However, data reveals that not all the children who accompany such families are enrolled in any form of education. This, experts say, is worrisome and needs to change

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The rest, experts presume, are slipping through the cracks of the welfare system. The majority of the children are concentrated in Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Thrissur. These districts are also major migrant hubs.

The KSPB study estimated that Ernakulam alone had over 5.5 lakh migrants, followed by Thiruvananthapuram (3.4 lakh), and 2.8 lakh each in Kozhikode and Thrissur.

Now, in a bid to address this oversight, the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights on June 30 issued a directive to local self-government bodies and the Department of Women and Child Development (WCD) to prepare guidelines to ensure migrant children receive services related to care, protection, awareness and education.

The order, issued by Commission member Jalajamol T C, also directed local bodies to collect detailed data on migrant families and hand it over to the WCD.