To school and back – on a boat

While children travelling by bus or walking to school is common, here is a group that takes a boat from across the boundary. Over 150 children of Irukkam, a coastal village of Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh, spend two hours every day travelling by boat across the Pulicat Lake to reach their schools in the Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu. Their families depend on fishing for a livelihood.

They study at government schools, panchayat union schools and a private school in the coastal villages in the Gummidipoondi taluk of Tiruvallur. S. Prakash, a class X student of Government Higher Secondary School said that, his village has only Telugu-medium primary schools. A majority of the families in Irukkam village  are Tamil-speaking and are not familiar with Telugu. Hence want to study in Tamil schools. That is why students come to schools in Tamil Nadu. Prakash has been travelling by boat right from class II and wants to pursue computer science engineering in a college in Tamil Nadu. There are many like him, including girls, who do not mind the distance and mode of transport. The youngest is Charumathi, a LKG student.

The boat ride comes with risks. Many children sit on the edges of the mechanised boat throughout the hour-long journey. They have to walk nearly 1.5 km to and from the shore, wading through ankle-deep water, even knee-deep water in certain places.

A boatman and a resident said that they travel by boat for nearly seven km. Once reached, the children walk in water and it is sad to see their uniforms getting wet in the morning. They also said that, there is 5 feet deep water throughout the travel. It becomes difficult when it rains midway.

Everyday, the children’s journey begins at 7.30 a.m. from Irukkam. The return journey starts at 5 p.m. Once all students assembled, their journey (thirst for education) begins. They cannot come to school when it rains heavily. While students from class I to VIII pay Rs. 50 every month as boat charges, others pay Rs. 90.