Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir government has launched a major drive to bring back out-of-school children into the mainstream education system.
The government has decided to depute officers at different bus stations, slum areas, and other vulnerable areas to identify street children in a bid to admit them to schools.
Poonch has become the first district to kick-start the programme. “Most of the members of migrant families remain at work during the day and their children either indulge in child labor or in other unproductive activities, So keeping it into consideration, the department of School Education has decided to identify all out-of-school children residing in slums in Poonch district,” said Chief Education Officer, Poonch, Bishamber Dass.
Dass said dedicated teachers are being roped in to provide education to street kids at their doorsteps. “Children are also being provided free books, midday meals, and other essential materials,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, Inderjeet Singh told The Kashmir Monitor that they are trying hard to motivate parents to send their wards to the schools
“During B2V and MTMP programmes, we readmitted many children. Now we focus on bringing back left-out children to schools. Our officers are talking to their parents, apprising them about the benefits of government schemes so that the children are admitted to schools,” he said.
Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir government approved the Draft Policy for Rehabilitation of Children in Street Situation (CISS). The policy has recommended lodging FIRs against people employing kids.
The draft policy was framed by the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights and Save The Children.
Under the policy, police and other agencies have been empowered to strictly enforce the laws against child labor. “Local police shall register an FIR against the perpetrators and employers of children for violation of Child Labour Act, 1986, Juvenile Justice Act,2015 and Indian penal Code 1860 on the statement of the child given before the Child Welfare Committee,” the policy document said.
The administration has roped in many departments including the social welfare department, labor department, revenue department, and education department apart from the Deputy Commissioners to implement the policy.
A recent survey by the Ministry of Education has revealed that the post-pandemic roll of students in government-run schools has increased in Jammu and Kashmir. This is primarily because of the economic downturn. People belonging to economically disadvantaged backgrounds of society have been hit hard due to the lockdown.
Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) survey has revealed that the total enrolment in Jammu and Kashmir schools (1-12th standard) has increased to 1324301 students including 896848 students at the elementary level (1-8th), 200843 students at the secondary level (8-10th) and 226610 students at the higher secondary level (10-12th).
