KRISHNAGIRI: In a heartening development, a 13-year-old boy who had been working as a child labourer in a mango orchard in Andhra Pradesh has now been re-enrolled in school. The boy, originally from Seemanoor village near Bargur, returned to his native place last week and has now been admitted to Class 8 at the Panchayat Union Middle School (PUPS), thanks to swift action by local authorities.
The case came to light after The New Indian Express (TNIE) published an article on June 26 highlighting the plight of two Irula tribe children from Kamatchipuram who had been rescued from bonded labour in 2022 but had since slipped off the official radar. The article reignited attention toward children vulnerable to labour and educational neglect.
After learning about the 13-year-old’s return, PUPS headmistress Rajeshwari alerted TNIE, which in turn notified Krishnagiri Collector C. Dinesh Kumar. The Collector promptly dispatched a team from the school education department to Seemanoor. Not only was the boy enrolled, but during their visit, officials discovered another 11-year-old boy who had never been admitted to school. He was immediately placed in Class 6.
Additionally, TNIE found that a Class 7 student from the same tribal hamlet had dropped out of Anchoor-Jagadevi Government Higher Secondary School. Block Resource Teacher Educator (BRTE) Vijayalakshmi confirmed that a special drive will soon be conducted in Kamatchipuram to identify and re-enroll school dropouts.