Concrete policies would be made regarding children’s rights and their protection in the State, said Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat while addressing the gathering at a State consultation workshop on child protection in Uttarakhand. The workshop was organised jointly by Uttarakhand Commission for Protection of Child Rights (UCPCR) and Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Uttarakhand at multipurpose training auditorium, girls ITI campus in Dehradun on Monday.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minsiter said that this workshop would be helpful in making concrete policies for children’s rights and their protection in the State. Keeping in view the future of children, policy makers should take decisions benefiting them, he said. Parents should also be alert regarding their children. They need to provide moral education to develop values in their children.
He said that Uttarakhand is the only State of the country where the student-teacher ratio is remarkable. In the State, one teacher teaches 12 students. Around Rs 26, 000 is being spent on each student in the State. The numbers of students in 2500 Government schools are less than 10. Around 1000 schools were shut down due to shortage of students there. In order to balance student-teacher ratio and provide quality education to the students, some schools are being clubbed in the state. Broad level awareness campaign should be launched in five districts- Dehradun, Haridwar, Pithoragarh, Chamoli and Champawat wherein the numbers of females are less than males. The CM also felicitated teachers and education officers who had evaluated students’ performance in essay, drawing and painting competitions held in a programme organised by the commission in the past.
Speaking on the occasion, the UCPCR chairman Yogendra Khanduri appealed the Chief Minister Rawat to ensure that bureaucrats take action on the notices served by the commission for children rights and protection. Khanduri said that as per national crime records bureau-2016, alarming data had come to light regarding crimes against children in the state. Crimes against children in the state have shown a rising trend in the last five years. In 2016, a total of 676 cases of crimes against children were reported under IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He expressed disappointment at bureaucrats for not taking cognisance of notices served by the commission. The commission is very serious regarding children’s protection. Steps should be taken to establish coordination among the officers of various departments and self help groups for children’s right and their protection. The department officers must work in coordination to achieve the desired level of goal, he said, adding that the objective of this workshop was to have a detailed discussion over ongoing schemes being implemented by the State Government for children’s protection, their development and security. This workshop was also aimed at establishing coordination among the department officers concerned pertaining to children’s security, he added.
While addressing the gathering as special guest, the High Court Justice VK Bisht said that children are most secure when they are with their parents. Home is the first education centre for all the children. Bisht also said that during his visit of juvenile home, some children told him of the issues they had regarding the officials. He said that awareness is needed to highlight issues related to children. Parents should also be made aware about the same. UCPCR and other organistions should come forward for making the public aware about the rights and protection of children, he added.