Mobile Learning Centre (UKBOCWWB)

What is the Mobile Learning Centre scheme?

Mobile Learning Centre is a welfare initiative of the Uttarakhand Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (UKBOCWWB), which functions under the Labour Department, Government of Uttarakhand. According to the board, the scheme runs "mobile learning school buses" that travel to construction sites so the children of registered construction workers can study without leaving the site.

Mobile Learning Centre exists because construction families move often. When parents shift from one project to another, their children frequently drop out of school or never enrol at all. The mobile learning bus, sometimes described locally as a "learning-on-wheels" facility, carries teaching staff and learning material directly to where the families live and work, so young children get basic literacy and numeracy instead of spending the day idle on a worksite.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated the Mobile Learning Centre programme along with two mobile learning buses on 21 July 2024. The buses are funded by the UKBOCWWB from the labour cess it collects from construction projects under the Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Act, 1996, so there is no charge to the worker or the child.

Who is eligible for the Mobile Learning Centre?

Children who can benefit:

• Children of construction workers who are registered with the UKBOCWWB and hold a valid labour card.
• Children who are present at or near a construction site where a mobile learning bus has been deployed.
• Young children of school-going age whose families move between worksites and who would otherwise miss classroom schooling.

Who cannot benefit / is not eligible:

• Children whose parents are not registered with the UKBOCWWB. Registration of the worker parent is the gateway to every board welfare benefit, including this one.
• Families whose board registration has lapsed because the annual contribution was not paid or the card was not renewed.
• Workers outside the construction sector, since the board covers only building and other construction workers as defined under the BOCW Act.

There is no income test or academic-marks test for the Mobile Learning Centre itself; the only condition is that the parent is a genuine, registered construction worker.

What benefit does the Mobile Learning Centre provide?

Mobile Learning Centre provides a non-cash benefit: free, on-site basic education delivered through a mobile learning bus staffed by teaching personnel. There is no monthly stipend or bank transfer attached to this particular scheme. The value to a family is the free schooling and the removal of the need to send a small child far away to a fixed school while the parents work.

Because the benefit is a service rather than money, there is no instalment schedule and no payment status to track. If your family also wants cash support tied to children's education, ask the board about its separate education-assistance and scholarship schemes for the children of registered workers, which are governed by their own rules.

How to apply for the Mobile Learning Centre

There is no separate published application form for the Mobile Learning Centre. The benefit flows from the parent's registration with the board. The practical steps are:

1. Register the working parent with the UKBOCWWB. Go to ukbocw.uk.gov.in, the worker registration portal, or the Apuni Sarkar e-services platform at eservices.uk.gov.in, or visit a labour office / Shram Suvidha Kendra. Complete registration and keep the labour card active.
2. Keep the registration valid. Pay the small annual contribution on time so the card does not lapse, because every board benefit, including access to the mobile learning bus — depends on an active registration.
3. Approach the bus team or site supervisor when a mobile learning bus is deployed at or near your construction site, and give the child's name, age and class level so the child can be enrolled in the on-site classes.

If no mobile learning bus currently serves your site, raise the request with your employer or the nearest labour office, and ask the board when coverage will reach your area.

How to register as a construction worker with UKBOCWWB

Because the Mobile Learning Centre depends on the parent's registration, it helps to know the registration rules. According to the board, a worker can register if he or she:

• Is between 18 and 60 years of age.
• Is a resident of Uttarakhand.
• Has worked as a construction worker for at least 90 days in the preceding twelve months.

To register online, open ukbocw.uk.gov.in or the worker portal, create an account, fill the registration form with your personal, address and work details, upload the documents, and submit. You can also complete registration on the Apuni Sarkar e-services portal (eservices.uk.gov.in) or in person at a labour office. After registration you receive a labour card that identifies you as a registered beneficiary and unlocks the board's welfare schemes.

What documents are needed?

What other UKBOCWWB benefits can the family claim?

Mobile Learning Centre is one of a wider set of welfare benefits the board runs for registered families, and a parent who registers for the bus should ask about the rest. According to the board's scheme listings, a registered construction worker's household can also access an education assistance scheme for children, a maternity benefit that pays a registered woman worker Rs 10,000 on the birth of a child (limited to two children), a bicycle-and-sewing-machine assistance scheme, a sanitary napkin scheme for women workers and their daughters, medical and disability assistance, and housing support. Each of these has its own conditions and forms, but all share the same gateway: an active UKBOCWWB registration. A family that keeps the labour card current unlocks the mobile learning bus and these cash and in-kind benefits together, which is why renewing the card on time matters more than any single application.

Common problems and how to fix them

• Parent not registered: the most common reason a child is turned away. Complete the worker's UKBOCWWB registration first.
• Registration lapsed: renew the labour card and clear any pending annual contribution.
• No bus at your site: the fleet started with two buses in July 2024 and is being expanded, so a bus may not yet cover every district. Ask the board or labour office about the deployment schedule.

Where to get help

For the Mobile Learning Centre and all UKBOCWWB matters, use the board's official website, ukbocw.uk.gov.in, and the Apuni Sarkar e-services portal at eservices.uk.gov.in. The board office is on the 3rd Floor, GMVN Building, Rajpur Road, Dehradun 248001. For grievances, use the complaint/grievance option on the board portal or raise the matter at your nearest labour office, and escalate through the Uttarakhand CM Helpline on 1905 if a local issue is not resolved. Do not pay any agent to "enrol" a child, the mobile learning bus service is funded from labour cess and is entirely free to the worker and the child.