IT News
Imphal Sept 23,
A “One Day State Level Sensitization Workshop for NGOs Running Children Home and Hostels on Provisions of RTE Act 2009, NCPRs Regulatory Guidelines for Hostels of Educational Institution for Children and Leveraging CSR Initiatives for Child Education, Child Welfare and Child Well Being” was held on September 23, 2018 at the Banquet Hall, MR Ground, Imphal. The Workshop was jointly organised by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and the Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
Ksh. Bhabananda Singh, MP Rajya Sabha, Manipur & President, BJP, Manipur Pradesh and A. Brajakumar Sharma, President Seva Bharti Manipur graced the Inaugural Session of the Workshop as Chief Guest and the Guest of Honour, respectively. Smt. Sumatibala Ningthoujam, Hon’ble Chairperson, Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights presided the session.
Paresh Shah, Expert Education, NCPCR, welcomed the distinguished guests, dignitaries and delegates of the Workshop. He expressed that hostels for children for in the country remains unregulated in terms of fees structure and the manner in which these are run. Likewise, homes for needy children remain equally unsafe. So the main objective of running both hostels and homes for needy children is to sensitize about them.
A. Brajakumar Sharma, in his speech as the Guest of Honour, shared that RTE for free and compulsory education was adopted in 2009. However, within the last 60 years, we witnessed that providing education as such remains a tragedy as the budget allocated for this sector is very low compared to other countries in the world. In the context of Manipur, he expressed that expenditure on education for children is very costly. Moreover, the state witnesses inadequate infrastructure and human resource to provide education, he added. This is the reason, parents send away their children outside the state for education. Homes and hostels for children in the age group of 6-14 years need a safe and secure environment especially in a state which witnesses crime against children. He concluded that there is degradation of moral education and most of the persons committing crimes are youths (below the age of 28 years). Thus, he pleaded for moral education in the state as well as provide a safe environment to children.
Chief Guest of the Workshop, Ksh. Bhabananda Singh, expressed that as a citizen of India we need a safe environment for children. He inferred that none of the human beings ever skipped the period of childhood. He asserted that what we are today is because of what we learnt and experienced during our. Even today, every person has story of childhood. He shared that he always remembers the hardship the he faced during his childhood as well as the love and care received from his grandmother as if etched in the brain.
40% of India’s population comprises of children. He shared that stayed in hostel during his school days in Sainik School, Golpara. He feels that homes are equally important although he never stayed there. Living in a hostel, one learns to learn about discipline and follow guidelines. Homes, meant for orphans and needy children, he heard are mostly disorganized. These are run under meager budget. And issues one hears about such homes, for example, recent case of homes in Uttar Pradesh, are shocking. When the ones who run these homes commit crimes against the inmates of tender age are despicable acts and highly condemnable. I believe today’s workshop is to prevent such crimes and sensitise the ones who are running them especially the NGOs. They need to be supervised and monitored. They should be guided by spirit of humanity, the human touch and feeling to serve and sacrifice not merely to earn profit. They should provide love and care especially to those who do not have parents. Without love of parents and guardians children cannot grow up normally and without psychological trauma. It is impossible to expect the same from these bodies but they should try to give the best and try are to be filled up the emotional vacuum. These demands that these bodies strictly need to follow the guidelines provided by NCPR but above all, work with a spirit of sacrifice and love as children are like God.
Smt. Sumatibala Ningthoujam gave a brief about Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights how the Commission has been striving to uplift the welfare of children, especially those who are in need.
She confided that the Commission has been working towards streamlining NGOs and individuals running hostels and homes for children. She shared that during the visits to hostels and homes, she came across majority of the shelters are run for profit. According to her one awkward observation most prevalent in many of homes relates to keeping boys and girls together in crowded-single rooms. However, on paper the segregations are supposedly recorded.
She heartily a shared a success story in Manipur, which according to her is historical. In Manipur for the first time a child-friendly police station has been opened. This unit envisages to look after incidences related with children below the age of 18 years. Acts committed by children need sensitive approach and dealings as they might not even know that certain acts constitute crime and are illegal. She believes the police station will go a long way in catering to the needs of the children.
She also urged the people of Manipur not to involve children in social and political issues. The Commission is underway to propose to the Government of Manipur to ban using children in rallies, agitations and other modes of strikes.
Finally, she urged NGOs based in Manipur to get Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) assistance from companies.
Dr. Shukhdeba Sharma, Member, Selection Committee, Child Welfare Committee & Juvenile Justice Board, Manipur and Head & Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Regional Campus Manipur proposed the vote of thanks.
Inaugural Session was followed by a Technical session in which 3(three) Resource Persons delivered their papers.
K. Pradipkumar, Member, Manipur SCPCR, “Salient Features of JJ Act 2015 with Special Reference to Hostels and Homes for Children”
Paresh Shah, Expert Education NCPCR, “Key Provisions as per RTE Act 2009 for Hostels and Homes and Regulatory Guidelines for Hostels and Homes for Educational Institutions”
Nielenthang Pelien, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, Kakching, Manipur, “Situational Analysis for Hostels of Educational Institutions and Homes for Children in Manipur”
Letter an open House Discussion on the topic MCPCR/NCPCR, “Leveraging CSR for Child Education, Child Welfare and Child Well Being” was also held.
