When Jagdishbhai Bheet, 30, left for his village for Diwali vacations in October-end, little did he know that he was not going to come back to Surat – the city that has been his home for the last seven years.
Owing to the slump in the industry, the factory where Bheet works as a diamond polisher has not reopened after the vacations, leaving him with no income and choice except working in his father’s agricultural field in his village in Bhavnagar.
He had to take another tough decision: get his daughter, a Class 4 student, to leave her studies mid-session and enrol in another school closer home.
“We don’t have other skills and other industries do not hire us. There is no option left for us other than going back to our roots,” Bheet told The Indian Express.
Bheet’s daughter Arushi is among the 600-odd students who have quit school in the last three weeks in Surat. Most of these students are children of diamond workers who have returned to their villages in Saurashtra on account of the ongoing recession in the diamond market.
As per data shared by sources in the Surat Municipal School board, 603 students have taken leaving certificates from some 50 municipal schools located in Varachha area, known as the diamond hub of Surat, after the Diwali vacation, abruptly cutting short their academic year.
Dropout figure in 24 of these schools is in double digits, like the School no 301 of Punagam area, where 38 students dropped out post-Diwali.
Dhruti, daughter of Hareshbhai Beladiya, 28, who has roots in Saurashtra’s Amreli district, is one such student.
An employee of a mid-size unit, Beladiya used to earn Rs 20-25,000 a month. “At the beginning of the year, our salary was cut down. Still, we managed to survive somehow. But now, with diamond factories not opening after Diwali vacation, we have decided to settle in our native place. I have taken the SLC (school-leaving certificate) of my daughter, a Class 3 student, a few days ago.”
Even though education in civic-body run schools is free-of-cost, Begadiya said the cost of living in Surat drove his decision to change his daughter’s school. “We cannot survive in the city as we have to pay rent (Rs 3,000) and meet other expenses. I tried to get a job in another diamond factory but failed. So, we decided to return to Amreli. I have started working as a labourer in an agricultural field at our village in Chanch and earn up to Rs 250 per day.”
Begadiya, though, is hopeful of returning to Surat one day. “I will return to Surat once the diamond industry starts full-fledged production and we get full salary, not with cuts.”
Last week, Rajya Sabha MP and one of Surat’s leading diamantaires, Govind Dholakia, had put out a video message asking diamond workers to be “patient” amid what he called the “longest recession” in his 60 years in the industry. Dholakia is also a migrant from Saurashtra’s Amreli district.
The diamond industry in Surat began to face a setback following sanctions imposed by the US on diamonds from Russia after the latter went to war with Ukraine in 2022. This led to a crunch in the supply of rough diamonds and a reduction in the demand in the international market.
A principal at a municipal school in the Varachha area, on condition of anonymity, said, “We have 950 students. This year, after Diwali, 28 students from different classes took their SLC, pleading that they were shifting back to their native place in Saurashtra. This is the highest figure in my tenure as the principal in the school. The students coming to our school are from a low-income group with the parents of a majority of them employed in the diamond industry. Last year, 12 students dropped out.”
The Chairman of Municipal School Board, Surat, Rajendra Kapadiya, confirmed that leaving certificates were issued to 603 students between November 18 and December 9. Kapadiya told The Indian Express, “We believe that a majority of the students are children of diamond polishers. There are also cases of students who had shifted from one area to another (in Surat), as a result of which they have taken leaving certificates. There may be some other issues. We will set up a team to identify the reasons.”
Kapadiya admitted that the significant drop-out number was unexpected. “However, we have also filled the gaps by giving new admission to 592 students in November and December in our schools in Varachha. We have a waiting list of over 5,000 students.”
Even private schools in the city have witnessed drop-outs, which is being attributed to the recession in the diamond industry.
Self-financed schools association chairman for Surat, Savjibhai Hun, said, “There are over 200 self-financed schools, both upper primary and higher secondary, in the Patidar community dominated area in the city. The self-financed school owners are also facing a tough time over non-payment of fees. Only 40 per cent of students are regular in paying the fees. While many had paid in part, some have not even submitted their first-term fees. We are putting in money from our own savings to run the schools. We are also helpless.”
Surat Diamond Association president Jagdish Khunt claimed that all the diamond factories in Surat have opened but the owners are facing shortage of polishers. “The reason behind the shortage is that their monthly income has gone down by over 50 to 60 per cent, making it difficult to meet monthly expenses. Diamonds are considered luxury products, which affects their sale during recession. We hope that the situation improves soon and the demand (for diamonds) resumes,” he said.
