The current government’s zeal to invalidate NSSO’s data on unemployment figures being at a 45-year high and establish their own set of statistics is yet another attempt to float false claims. A team of 13 students from St. Stephen’s College, while trying to understand the socio-economic impact of the agrarian crisis on suicide affected families in Mansa district, Punjab, came across stories which challenged the myth of a boom in jobs and avenues for the youth.
There is a popular perception, even among the poorest sections in rural areas, that government schools are inadequate and most work hard to earn additional income to put their children through private education. As opposed to government schools, which provide free education and mid-day meals for students till eighth standard, fees of private schools in Mansa district range from 18,000 – 25,000 per annum and they provide no meals. For families who have largely lost their primary bread earner, this is a large sum of money. Yet, believing in the potential of a good education, families across caste status, enrol their children in school. A particular instance that struck me was of a woman from an SC household, who had recently lost her husband. She worked extra hours at her MNREGA daily wage job to put her son through private school. Her son told us that he would help his mother during holidays at her job to ensure work got done faster and that she would have more free time to be with him at home.
Most school-going children we interacted with wished to become doctors, policemen or teachers after graduation. They were full of hope despite adverse circumstances. This was contrasted by a sense of disillusionment among individuals in their 20s. In village Malakpur Khyala, 25-year-old Jaspreet Singh recalled how he was enrolled in college on sports quota. Numerous medals and trophies were displayed against the brick walls of his house. Having represented Punjab in national wrestling competitions, he expected to get a government job easily. He filled numerous forms after completing college. It has been 4 years since he received an update on his application. Jaspreet and many others, angry at the state for failing to provide jobs, find themselves with no choice but to continue working on the field. His neighbour, Sherbaj Singh, who lives a few houses away, finds himself in a similar situation. Sherbaj, who recently completed his Masters in History, seemed to have quite a few opinions on the rising phenomenon of ‘WhatsApp history’ or largely distorted historical phenomena circulated through the medium of WhatsApp. His enthusiasm for the subject continues to exist, but only as a hobby. There are no jobs for Sherbaj either and he too works on the field.
As is characteristic of economic disparity, the brewing jobs crisis inevitably takes on a gendered lens. Paucity of ‘appropriate’ jobs for women leads to higher drop-out rates and has important consequences– firstly, despite being highly qualified, salaries for teachers even in private schools in the district are extremely low. The profession, largely seen as ‘appropriate’ for women due to its working hours, has failed to provide salaries that are in keeping with the skill level of these women. Many women claim that simply sitting at home and helping out in agricultural work would yield a higher income. The dominant notion of a woman’s life revolving around marriage and subsequently giving birth to children is rampant across villages in Mansa, like in most other parts of the country. In village Burjharike, 20-year-old Narender Kaur, having completed her schooling and subsequently acquiring a B.Ed degree, was married off. When asked whether Narender was now working after marriage, the family responded in the negative.
Education is considered as a ticket to mobility. In an ideal world, this should be the case. However, the lack of jobs and sub-par salaries have to be addressed simultaneously for greater enrolment and better opportunities. It is the basic duty of the state to ensure that hope does not turn into despair; that 9 year old Labjyot Singh and many others like him continue to aspire for a better and more dignified life.
By,
Anoushka Gupta
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