Students work as daily wagers under govt scheme

HYDERABAD: In a clear pointer to the pathetic conditions they live in, a group of students in the backward district of Mahbubnagar have started working as daily wagers to eke out a living. With private educational institutions charging hefty fees and the government doing very little to help them, the students are enrolling themselves in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to earn some money so that they could pursue their studies.
Rajani, a second year degree student of Chityal village in Wanaparthi mandal, says making ends meet is their first priority now. "I earn Rs 120-140 a day by toiling as a labourer under the MGNREGS. These earnings help us as we do not have to depend on our parents," she reasons. Her parents are poor agriculture labourers. Sources said more than 1,200 people in the village possess NREGS job cards and they earn Rs 100-140 a day.
With the monsoon playing truant and agriculture activity yet to pick up, most of the youth and students are forced to labour as daily wagers in the NREGS works. "We want to go back to the college and study. Though these earnings are meagre, we are confident of paying the fees," says Swapna, a polytechnic student.
Sources said the poor students were undone by the lack of implementation of the fee reimbursement scheme, forcing them to slog in the NREGS works. "We had no other go but to toil as labourers. But we are keen to pursue our studies," Rajesh Valluri, a degree student, avers.