Education Among The Children Of Tea Plantation Workers Of Matelli Tea Estate, Jalpaiguri - A Non-Doctrinal Study
Author: LawSphereX
Category: Labour & Employment
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EDUCATION AMONG THE CHILDREN OF TEA
PLANTATION WORKERS OF MATELLI TEA ESTATE, JALPAIGURI: A NON-DOCTRINAL STUDY Jayitree Roy, LLM (Corporate & Commercial Law), Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University
ABSTRACT
Tea industry is considered to be a labour intensive industry. Tea plantation workers are playing an epoch-making role for the development of such a beverage industry. But unfortunately the tea plantation workers especially the labour community falls under a marginalized community. One of the main reasons of such backwardness is the lack of education. The social upbringing as well as the personal upbringing depends on education. Formal and informal education both have importance. This present study will specifically focus on the secondary-level formal education status of Matelli Tea Estate of Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal. The present scenario of secondary-level education among the children of the tea plantation workers of Matelli Tea Estate, are not up to the mark. Although the Govt.
has made many provisions for the development of education for each category of people in the society, but the children of the tea plantation workers of Matelli Tea Estate are still deprived from proper education. There are several factors responsible for such backwardness and poor-participation in schools. It is never acceptable that a child of a labour will also become a labour in the near future. They also have the right to get a better future as like the other category of people of the society. This paper will focus on their present-day condition and suggest some proposals as the solution of the problem. Keywords: Tea industry, Tea plantation workers, Poor-participation, Secondary-level, Education.
INTRODUCTION
Camellia sinensis1 is the botanical name of tea. Tea as a quencher was brought to light before the beginning of the Christian Era. By the end of the 6th century the Chinese began to take tea as a regular non-alcoholic drink. Albeit, tea became the most-worthy commercial commodity during the British Colonial Era. Tea has now become the cheapest and widely taken as a soft drink other than water throughout the world. In 2023 worldwide tea production is over 7 million tonnes2. China, world’s top tea producer, tea production surged to nearly 2,400,000 metric tonnes in 2024. India also plays an important role in the tea industry and holds 2nd position in terms of production of tea with the best quality. The country produced over 900,000 metric tonnes of tea in 20243. Tea production is also increased in Kenya, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Japan in the recent years.
Consequently, tea industry occupies a prominent place in the economy of a state. Tea industry, as a labour intensive industry, provides employment to a large number of people. Thus, tea plantation worker is one of the biggest contributors to the economy of tea industry. The present study deals with the Matelli Tea Estate, Matelli, Jalpaiguri. Out of which, children of these workers are still not getting proper education. The main objective of education is to provide a sound mind in a sound body. In 2003, the first President of South Africa said on the value of education that “Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world. ”4 So education is the most important dimension for the development of the society. The term education can be classified into formal, non-formal and informal categories. For this present study, education has been discussed as formal education.
The main issue of this study is that the status of secondary-level education among the children of the tea plantation workers of Matelli Tea Estate are not up to the mark. The literacy rate among the children of the tree plantation workers and their families is very low in both quantitatively and qualitatively. Specifically the students who are beyond the primarylevel face many problems in getting their secondary-level education. Although the Govt. has taken numerous measures to improve the education system throughout the country, but these children are still deprived. There are several factors responsible for such poor participation in educational institutions. The foremost objective of this current study to examine this issue and
1 Tea plant, https://www.britannica.com/plant... (last visited on Dec.3, 2024)
2 Top 10 Tea Exporting Countries in the World 2023-24, https://www.eximpedia.app/blog/... (last visited on July 22, 2024) 3 Top 5 Tea-Producing Countries, https://www.indiatoday.in/visualst... (last visited on July 11, 2024)
4 Nelson Mandela, https://blog.cambridgeinternational.org... (last visited on March 28, 2019)
suggest some proposals for the improvement of education system in the tea gardens of Matelli Tea Estate.
HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND
OF MATELLI TEA ESTATE Matelli Tea Estate is comprising with Matelli and Murti. Matelli (also known as Matialihat) is a small town in the Matiali CD block in the Mal Bazar subdivision of Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal, India. Distance between Matelli and Murti is approximately 4 km. Pin Code of Matelli is 735223. Postal head office is in Matelli. And Pin Code of Murti is 735206. Chalsa Railway Station is nearby from Matelli. Mal Bazar, Siliguri are nearby cities from Matelli. Matelli Tea Company Private Limited is a private company, that means it is non-government company. It was incorporated on 5th July in 1984. Directors are Dipankar Chatterjee and Rudra Chatterjee. Corporate Identification Number (CIN) is U24129WB1984PTC037677. Registration number is 37677. Matelli Tea Co. Pvt. Ltd. comes under the Luxmi Tea Company Private Limited.
As a private company, it was established on 4th March in 1912. As a reflex of freedom from the British Raj, PC Chatterjee founded Luxmi Tea5. This company is registered with the Registrar of Companies at Kolkata. Corporate Identification number is U01132WB1912PTC002104. Registration number is 2104. Directors are Kalyani Bhowmik, Dipankar Chatterjee, Sujit Kumar Poddar, Rudra Chatterjee and Atul Rastogi. Director Rudra Chatterjee said that “Bosses from British management agencies came and advised that Luxmi’s processes and systems were curious, but since we were clocking the best prices in the Calcutta auctions, while having a ball at it, we chose to remain different. ”6 RESEARCH PROBLEM In tea gardens of Matelli Tea Estate, there is a lack of secondary-level education among the children of tea plantation workers other than the children of the staffs of the tea gardens.
This kind of vast illiteracy may create a difficult situation for the nation’s ability to effectively deal with the social development in terms of education. STUDY AREA This study is dealing with only secondary-level i. e. IX-X grade students who belongs to the tea
5 Luxmi Tea Co. Pvt. Ltd., https://zaubacorp.com/com... (last visited on June 18, 2024)
6 Luxmi Tea History, https://luxmitea.com/History... (not mentioned)
plantation workers from Matelli Tea Estate. Here specifically the educational status of the children of labourers will be highlighted. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What is the current status of educational institutions in Matelli Tea Estate?
2. How far have the children of tea garden workers progressed in their education?
3. What is the ratio of teachers and students in the schools?
4. What is the ratio of boys and girls in the schools?
5. What is the attitude of parents towards their child education?
6. What type of financial challenges do students face in continuing their education?
RESEARCH METHOD
The method of research which is concerned with the current situations, events, practices, known as survey study. Indispensable data and ethos are collected from the field of the Matelli Tea Estate.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Constitution – Earlier right to education was a part of DPSP. Art.45 of the Constitution of our country said that the state would provide free and compulsory education for all children till they reach 14 years of age. The target of this article was to annihilate illiteracy from the country7. 86th amendment of 2002 converted the subject matter of Art.45. This amendment made the elementary education as a fundamental right under Art.21A8. Art.29(2) says that no citizen can be denied to take admission in state-maintained educational institutions on basis of caste, religion and language. Parents and guardians should provide educational opportunities for their children under Art.51A(k) of the Constitution of our country. An Act of 2009 was enacted for free and compulsory education for children of 6 to 14 years. And a 14 years old
7 DR. S.C. TRIPATHI AND VIBHA ARORA, LAW RELATING TO WOMEN & CHILDREN 428 (Central
Law Publications 2004).
8 DPSP - Indian Polity Notes, https://byjus.com/free-ias-pr... (not mentioned)
child comes under the secondary-level education. This act says that 25% seats will be reserved for students of economically weaker groups. Tea Garden Management Schools for education in tea garden areas also comes under the purview of the Act of 2009. • Other Statutes – An Act of 1951, enacted for tea plantation labourer, says that the state govt. will make rules to provide educational facilities for the children of tea plantation workers9. Another Act of 2016, enacted for tea workers’ welfare, reserves seats for tea workers’ children in higher education. 10% relaxation is the minimum eligibility marks for these children10. GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
National Education Policy- For 21st century, NEP 2020 was the first education policy. This policy ensured universal ingress to school education at every stages i. e. from pre-school to secondary-level. By bringing a positive impact on education, NEP 2020 was expected to make our country a global hub of skilled manpower during the “Amrit Kaal”11. In 2025, the focus is expected to permute towards a broader and deeper depiction of NEP’s reforms. • Govt. Schemes – In 2001, “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan” was launched to provide child education for 6 to 14 years age. This scheme tries to abolish gender and social gaps in education. It focuses on the improvement of quality of education and augment school infrastructures. In general, a student who is 14 years old, can be a secondary-level student in school. In 2008, “National Scheme of Incentives to Girls’ for Secondary Education” was launched.
This scheme says that children will stay in school until they reach 18 years age. It provides financial incentives to girls who have passed class VIII and enroll for secondary education particularly those from SC and ST. “Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)” was launched in
2009. It was a centrally sponsored scheme. 15 to 16 years age group was covered under this
scheme. The main objective of this scheme was to universalize secondary education by providing a secondary school within a reasonable distance of every habitation and improving school infrastructures. But in 2018, this scheme was merged with SSA and CSSTE to form “Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan”. After that Samagra Shiksha scheme has extended from 2021 to
2026. This comprehensive scheme is a school education program run by Ministry of Education
(MoE). It provides widespread and reasonable quality education from pre-school to secondary-
9 Plantations Labour Act, 1951, https://www.teaboard.gov.in/... (not mentioned)
10 Tea Workers’ (Welfare and Special Provisions) Bill 2016, https://sansad.in (not mentioned)
11 About National Education Policy, https://education.gov.in/nep... (last visited on Sep.1, 2023)
level. This policy focuses on digital education, teachers’ training and vocational training12. “Sabooj Sathi Scheme” of West Bengal Govt. was launched in 2015. This scheme provides bicycles to the students who are studying in government-run and government-aided schools from class IX to XII13. JUDICIAL REVIEW In a process of judicial review, the Courts can review and set aside govt. actions that are incoherent with the Constitution. A case for the right to take admission in educational institution was decided by the apex Court in 199214. Fact of the case- A female student had applied to take an admission to MBBS course at a private medical college of Karnataka. The college administration told her to submit a large amount of first year tuition fee as well as a bank guarantee for an amount identical to the charges for the following year.
After hearing from her father that the required amount was beyond his capacity, the administration rejected her application. According to the candidate, the college administration wanted an additional amount. But this allegation was denied by the management of the college. Decision of the Court- The vertex Court ruled that even though the right to get education is not protected as a fundamental right under the Constitution, but it’s quite natural from the purview of the Preamble and DPSP that the state wished for to provide education for all citizens. The fundamental right to speech and expression cannot be enjoyed fully unless the citizens are educated. Decision of this case was re-examined in a case of 1993 by the vertex Court for some other reasonable grounds15. A case was decided by the vertex Court on the ground of right to get education in a safe environment in 200916.
Fact of the case- This case arose out of a fire that started in a private school of Madras. The fire started in a nearby kitchen, where cooks were preparing food for midday meal. Consequently, it killed 93 children and injured others. Under Public Interest Litigation, a writ petition was filed in order to protect school children against such kind of disaster and to improve the conditions of the schools throughout the country. Judgement of 12 10 Govt. Schemes for Free Education in India, https://cry. org/blog/government... (last visited on Aug. 5, 2024)
13 Sabooj Sathi, https://myscheme.gov.in/scheme... (last visited on January 3, 2025)
14 Mohini Jain vs. State of Karnataka, (1992) 3 SSC 666. Available at
https://blog.ipleaders.in/article-2... (last visited on Aug. 31, 2022)
15 DR. J.N. PANDEY, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF INDIA 325 (Central Law Agency 1969).
16 Avinash Mehrotra v. Union of India, (2009) 6 SCC 398. Available in
P M BAKSHI, THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA 87 (Universal Law Publishing 1991). the case- The Court said that it is a fundamental right to receive education free from fear of safety and right to get a safe and secured educational institution comes under Art.21 and 21A of the Constitution. A set of safety measures should be taken. These measures include fire safety, school teachers’ training, cleaning etc. For the effective implementation of right to education, it is required to provide them a safe environment. State has the burden to ensure the safety measures not only in govt. aided schools but in private schools also. A case was decided by the vertex Court on the importance of adequate infrastructure for quality education in
201217. In this case it was decided that the right to get adequate infrastructure, including
sanitation facilities, is a basic component of the right to education. The state has a duty to monitor that public and private schools comply with national legislation and they cannot avoid this duty even when a public service is provided by the non-state actors. A case was decided by the Court on the ground of right to take admission at senior secondary school in 202418. In this case, school admission under EWS category, was granted by the Delhi High Court. Once the allotment is made, then the denial of admission to any child is in violation of the “Right to Education Act, 2009”. Accordingly, the Court directed the school to allow admission of the petitioner and ordered the secretary of the Department of Education, to initiate an inquiry into this matter.
SURVEY
FINDINGS
This section deals with data analysis. Data is collected and analysed by the field survey to answer the research questions. No. 1 – Current Status of educational institutes in Matelli Tea Estate – There are two high schools in Matelli Tea Estate, such as Matelli High School and Matelli Rastrabhasa Vidyalaya High (H. S. ). Matelli H. S. established in 1957, is situated in Matelli Hat. Medium of instruction is Bengali. And Rastrabhasa Vidyalaya established in 1967, is situated in Indong area. Medium of instruction is Hindi. Both are govt. sponsored and co-educational schools. But there are no secondary- level schools in Murti division. Although primary-level schools are there in Murti division but secondary-level schools are also required for their educational development. So, most of the children cannot avail these two schools due to the distances from their house.
17 Environmental and Consumer Protection Foundation vs. Delhi Administration & Others, AIR 2013 SC 1111.
18 Master Jai Kumar vs. Aadharshila Vidyapeeth (Judgement delivered on 01.10. 2024).
No.2- Progression of children of tea garden workers in education- Primary-level education is going on in a better way in Matelli Tea Estate. But secondary-level education is not up to the mark. Nearly 60% of the students goes for the registration of Madhyamik examination. But their results are not reaching up to the mark. Many students are leaving high schools after class IX. And a very few students are coming in schools for higher-secondary level education.
No. 3- Ratio of teachers and students in the schools- As per the academic year 2021-22, there was total 13 teachers (10 regular and 3 contract basis). And as per the academic year 2022-23, there was 11 teachers (male 4 and female 7) in the Matelli High School. Presently, there are no teachers aged above 55 years. Number of teachers with professional qualifications such as B. Ed. or equivalent, is 8 and B. EI. Ed. or Bachelor of Elementary Education, is 3. Number of teachers trained in computer is 1. So, it is a drawback. Teachers’ training in computer should be done by the appropriate authority. And more teachers are required to be appointed. The academic year 2021-22 shows that there was total 273 students (143 male and 130 female) in class IX, while in class X there was total 179 students (71 male and 108 female) in Matelli High School.
And the academic year 2022-23 shows that there was total 187 students in class IX, while in class X there was 111 students. As per the academic year 2021-22, there was total 37 teachers (27 on regular basis and 10 on contract basis) in Matelli Rastrabhasa Vidyalaya High (H. S. ). Number of male and female teachers were 23 and 14. There was no part-time teachers. And the academic year 2022-23, there was total 36 teachers. Currently, 34 teachers are working there. Number of teachers with Diploma in Basic Teachers Training is 2. Number of teachers with B. Ed. or equivalent is 26. Hence, computer training is required for all teachers in this school also. Total number of students of class IX was 586 (273 male and 313 female) in Matelli Rastrabhasa Vidyalaya High (H. S. ) as per the academic year of 2021-22, while it was 360 students in class X.
And as per the academic year of 2022-23, total number of the students was 422 in class IX, while it was 253 in class X. No. 4 - Ratio of Boys and Girls in the schools- There is no such gender inequalities among the students of Matelli High School and Matelli Rastrabhasa Vidyalaya High (H. S. ). But the academic years, i. e. 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 shows that nearly 20% girls’ students are leaving schools after class IX and 40-50% female students are leaving schools after completion of their Madhyamik Examination. By this field visit, I came to know that early marriage, one of the cogent social diseases, is a reason for such dropout. And another reason, there is no proper sanitation facilities for girls’ students due to the lack of proper knowledge about women issues. So, the ratio of boys and girls are average in the schools of the Matelli Tea Estate.
And dropout rates among the boys’ and girls’ students are almost similar. From the visit, it is disclosed that most of the students need some better kind transportation facilities to reach the school on time. This problem may also lead students’ absence from the school. No. 5- Attitude of parents towards their child education- It is revealed from the visit that approximately 90% of the parents of the students are having only moderate level of attitude towards the importance of education. They have very relaxed attitude towards education. They have the mindset that even if their children cannot get proper education, then it will not affect their life very much. The ultimate goal in their life is to work in the tea garden areas. The study also revealed that the attitude of community members towards girl child education is antithetic. Most of the people are still believe in child marriage.
Girls should be at home for all the time and work for the family. This is due to the lack of awareness of their parents regarding the opportunities that comes from education. The elopement among teenagers is also a common problem. That’s why they are still lacking behind. As a consequence of early marriage, higher population growth is found among them and produces children with lower IQ level and proved to be unsuitable for education. No. 6 – Financial challenges of children for continuing their education- Financial crisis is another most serious factor which allows their parents to engage them in earning activities so that they can get salvation from their burden. If we compare the percentage of boys’ and girls’ in the schools then we may find that boys’ students are more negligible towards education.
Most of the tea garden labourer families are having very low-level income and resources, so, instead of sending their children to school, they prefer to involve them in some profitable works. Tea plantation labourers are suffering a lot than the tea garden staffs, because the staffs can effort more for their child education. Low rate of wages keeps the tea plantation labourers of Matelli Tea Estate in a cycle of penury. This condition is pushing the children out of the school and leading to cases of gender-based violence and human trafficking. If we see the current situation of the tea gardens in the dooars then we will come to know that hundreds of tribal girls mostly teenagers, from dying tea gardens have gone missing over the past few years. They are driven out of home by poverty and the dream of a better life, these girls have fallen victim of human trafficking.
Tea estates located in Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Darjeeling is more stooped to such kind of human trafficking. So, it is important to take necessary steps to combat with this problem by the authorities of tea garden. PROPOSALS Some proposals for the development of educational condition in Matelli Tea Estate are discussed below- • Financial assistance-To increase the participation in schools, it is necessary to provide an educational stipend for the children of the tea plantation workers. And each and every eligible candidate must get this opportunity. • Raise awareness- To raise awareness about the need and consequences of education, it is required to conduct campaigns by the tea garden authority. A collaborative partnership between the tea garden and the school is also required.
• Increase the wage rate- The level of household income has a positive impact on attainment of children’s education. But the wage rate at the tea garden area is very low in present days. Necessary steps should be taken to increase the wage rate. • Need for more schools- To develop the interest in education, there is a need to establish more secondary-level govt. sponsored schools in the Matelli Tea Estate. One of the key reasons for dropout from schools after class VIII, is their unwillingness to travel long distances without proper accommodation to continue their education. • Importance of skill development- Nowadays, skill development is necessary. There is no guarantee that youth will get jobs. So, it is important to increase investments in skill development and generate employment opportunities. The adolescents of the tea gardens of Matelli Tea Estate, are extremely talented.
They just need some opportunities to shine in life. • Encouragement for girls’ education- Education is against any kind of biasness and gender discrimination. To reduce female illiteracy, it is important to reduce early marriages. Tea garden authority should take initiatives to promote girl child education and protect the girls’ from social issues. • Employment opportunity- It is important to provide better employment opportunities for the children of tea plantation workers to improve their interest in education. Better employment opportunities like as sales representative, marketing specialist. • Language- Out of two high schools of Matelli Tea Estate, one follows Hindi as the medium of instruction. And the other one follows Bengali as the medium of instruction.
Although it is good to preserve primary languages and cultures, it is also important to use English as the medium of instruction in schools because English is required for higher studies. • Address welfare schemes- It is the duty of the labour welfare officers to ensure that the welfare schemes provided by the tea garden authority, are implemented effectively or not. If the labour welfare officer can find any problem, then he/she may execute policies as the solution of the problem. And the officer can also bring worker remonstrance in management’s attention.
CONCLUSION
A huge number of people are working in the tea industry of Matelli Tea Estate of Matelli, Jalpaiguri since decade. Their contribution in the national economy in terms of revenue is voluminous. But if we see their formal educational background, that gives a haze picture to the nation despite enormous schemes and provisions in education made available by the state as well as the central govt. of the country. The entire investigation was based on primary data collection survey. The analysis shows that, on average, family income level affects on child education positively. There are some common matters which are also liable for their negligence towards education. Lack of high aspiration amongst the students and parents of the tea plantation workers, adoption of family tradition are some of the common factors for such negligence in education.
To tighten their economic condition, daily wages of both male and female workers need to be increased by the tea garden authority. This may ennoble their economic security and thereby they may think about the importance of education for their next generations. This present study provides some necessary remedies for the improvement of education system in Matelli Tea Estate. The proposals put forward are in unification with ground realities and administrative concerns. The implementation of these proposals should emblazon the tea garden. And these remedies have come out from the discussion with the teachers, students, and community members. An African and American revolutionary, who dropped out of school because of racial discrimination, said on the importance of education that − “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. ”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS (1) DR. S.C. TRIPATHI AND VIBHA ARORA, LAW RELATING TO WOMEN & CHILDREN (Central Law Publications 2004). (2) DR. J.N. PANDEY, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF INDIA (Central Law Agency 1969). (3) P M BAKSHI, THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA (Universal Law Publishing 1991).
WEBSITES
(4) Tea plant, https://www. britannica. com/plant... (last visited on Dec. 3, 2024) (5) Top 10 Tea Exporting Countries in the World 2023-24, https://www. eximpedia. app/blog/... (last visited on July 22, 2024) (6) Top 5 Tea-Producing Countries, https://www. indiatoday. in/visualst... (last visited on July 11, 2024) (7) Nelson Mandela, https://blog. cambridgeinternational. org... (last visited on March 28, 2019) (8) Luxmi Tea Co. Pvt. Ltd. , https://zaubacorp. com/com... (last visited on June 18, 2024) (9) Luxmi Tea History, https://luxmitea. com/History... (not mentioned) (10) DPSP-Indian Polity Notes, https://byjus. com/free-ias-pr... (not mentioned) (11) Plantations Labour Act,1951, https://www. teaboard. gov. in/... (not mentioned) (12) Tea Workers’ (Welfare and Special Provisions) Bill 2016, https://sansad. in (not mentioned) (13) About National Education Policy, https://education.
gov. in/nep... (last visited on Sep. 1, 2023) (14) 10 Govt. Schemes for Free Education in India, https://cry. org/blog/government... (last visited on Aug. 5, 2024) (15) Sabooj Sathi, https://myscheme. gov. in/scheme... (last visited on January 3, 2025) (16) Mohini Jain vs. State of Karnataka, (1992) 3 SSC 666, https://blog. ipleaders. in/article-2... (last visited on Aug. 31, 2022)