The life of Nabil..
Speculating the future of a migrant labourer’s child in India, post COVID.
I was ecstatic when the tables turned this time, instead of volunteering, I would be speaking at the DesignUp 4th edition ‘not another webinar’ — on the account of May the forth [Star Wars Reference, if you didn’t get it] I had the opportunity to share my anecdote on anything giving a slight peak into the near future and futures far away. To put into perspective, What will change in the next 4 weeks? What will change in the next 4 months? What will change in the next 4 quarters (or a year)? What will change in the next 4 years?
I research with children who belong to lower income groups in India & this was the perfect opportunity to represent them. I decided to speculate on one facet of their life — Education & how Covid has wrecked it. The story that I am about to share is a culmination from field research. 333 Zoomers heard the story of Nabil.
Introducing Nabil
An 8 year old, who resides in Delhi. He along with his parents moved from a small village in Bengal for better opportunities. I would like you to travel back in time with me by 40 weeks, to set a little context in Nabil’s life.
Nabil’s life 40 weeks ago
His mother is a domestic helper, working anywhere between 5–9 houses a day, while his father sells confectionaries on a push-cart for 12 hours. I don’t want you to sympathise with their occupation; they like their jobs. The problem is, when the parents go to work, they don’t know where to leave Nabil.
They certainly didn’t want to leave him alone at home — unattended. The neighbourhood is not safe, even for boys. Luckily, they found an NGO school that educates children up until standard 7. It’s near their home, and more importantly, the education is free. It made them happy as they didn’t have the money to send 8-year-old Nabil to school, not to mention a safe, secure, and supervised space that looks after him while they went to make ends meet.
Nabil’s life has been nomadic. This has taken a toll on his educational life, thus lacking age-appropriate cognitive skills for an 8-year-old. This is why he’s enrolled in standard 1.
Recently, Nabil found himself drawn into the world of TikTok videos. So much so that it’s become his favourite hobby. That, and watching cartoons on YouTube. His mother’s phone becomes the vessel for Nabil to sail into the seas of social media.
Apart from this, he loves playing with the street dogs around his home.
Fast forward to present day — What is Nabil doing now?
His school shut in March due to the pandemic.
He’s at home spending a lot more time making TikTok videos, the only difference now is his parents are featured in his video. Maybe if Nabil’s mother had received a formal education, she could have used this time to homeschool him but homeschool is a privilege. She is not even aware of Nabil’s learning capabilities & skills, let alone engaging him in activities to improve and shine.
How is Nabil’s life going to change in the next 4 Weeks?
Rice & Dal is a family’s staple meal. In the absence of an income, the dal has now been replaced with water and a pinch of iodised salt. While his social media presence increases, or his video game time, the thing Nabil misses the most is going to school.
He misses the dog-eared storybooks from the library or playing catch-catch with his classmates during break time.
Personally, I wish his school could facilitate using online platforms to conduct online classes like the other private schools, but that’s again a privilege.
How is Nabil’s life going to change in the next 4 months?
Unfortunately, I would have to say it might not change significantly at all. The school he attends, runs on donation. As individuals, we are all living in fear of going from pay-check to pay-check, I am sure so are the donors. Which is bad news for children like Nabil because no donation means no school.
The storybooks will have to wait for another day, perhaps forever.
On the bright side, his mother might go back to work & maybe his father can start selling without getting beaten by the police. To support the family with another source of income, Nabil will probably be nudged into entering the menial workforce — as a child labourer.
How is Nabil’s life going to change in the next 4 quarters?
If all goes well, donations may start seeping in, which will lead to the school reopening. But the question is — will Nabil’s parents forego the extra income Nabil has been putting on the table and send him back to his school bench?
How is Nabil’s life going to change in the next 4 years?
Nabil might have seen more parts of India than any of us in the next 4 years, on account of his father hunting for a job.
You might think Nabil’s life has been very nomadic, the pandemic hasn’t changed too much of his educational life. Well, if Nabil would have given his final exams in March, he would have been double- promoted to class 3. He has been doing exceptionally well to match up to other kids his age, his parents were beginning to realize that. This was the first time he attended a school for more than a year.
Research is predicting that things won’t go back to normal like before, after this pandemic.
How can we leverage the apps that these children already use, to continue their learning?
Perhaps, platforms like Whatsapp & Tiktok can collaborate with educational boards like ICSE/CBSE or NIOS to make educational content available & certify them. Use the apps that they are familiar with for learning.
According to the ‘Social inclusion of internal migrants in India’, a UNESCO report of 2013, cites that the number of migrant children is estimated to be 15 million.
Can we imagine a future for these children where they don’t have to physically be present in school to be called educated considering their migrant lives?
Can every child without a pin code, find one inbox that invests into their future?
Nabil is currently keeping himself engaged in the world of social media, not knowing whether he can ever go back to school and read those fun books in his library. His family fears what the next 4 months would hold for them let alone how things might drastically change in the next 4 years.
Did I forget to mention? When Nabil grows up, he wants to become an Animal Doctor [in his own words], not because of his family struggles but because of his love for one particular street dog in his area who happened to die in front of his eyes & he couldn’t do anything.
When Nabil was just settling in at school, the virus put a full stop to his learning. Given this, will he ever be an Animal Doctor? Will Nabil ever get the chance to help a sick dog get better? Only time can tell…
