Community Monitoring of Child Labour in India

To operationalise community involvement to monitor child labour in India, using a democratic framework of local self-government institutions, the municipalities and the panchayats, Village Education Committees (VEC) and in the urban areas Ward Education Committees (WEC) were to be strengthened to function as the child labour monitoring teams. They were to especially monitor the enrolment and retention of children in schools after they were removed from exploitative labour. A designated community worker, employed by the district, was to facilitate the meetings of these committees. The child labour rehabilitation plans were to be prepared in each village or ward.

The VEC/WEC members and members of the Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) were sensitized in respect of the special needs and concerns regarding child labour through special modules. However, when assessed by an independent evaluation specialist, the issue of child labour was not a priority for the VEC/WEC. In Tamil Nadu where absence of child labour is one of the criteria for declaring a village a ‘Namadhu Gramam Thittam’ (an ‘ideal village’), it is very much a priority with the ‘gram panchayats’.

The major initiatives of the idea have the potential to be sustained and extended evidenced by the impact they have had in influencing the policies and programs of the government. The Ministry of Education has made significant modifications and actions to improve the success of community monitoring of child labour. These include focusing on urban areas, migrant child labour, and documenting successful communities and the reasons for their success. The special targets in respect of child labour - migrant and urban children – should be addressed in a planned and systematic manner through effective interventions at the district level.

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...

Apes go to the movies - and remember the scenes

Apes remember major events in movies, even after a single viewing. That’s the findings of primate research in Japan (New Scientist, September 17, 2015). Researchers at the Kyoto University in Japan conducted experiments with two species of apes – chimpanzees and bonobo primates – to test their memory and recall. Instead of using food to test memory, they used films. The researchers made two short movies to show to the apes. Fumihiro Kano and his colleague, Satoshi Hirata, starred in the films with another person dressed as an ape. They wanted to have strong dramatic scenes to see if the apes remembered them. In the first 30-second movie the character ape bursts through a door on the right hand side (there is also a door on the left hand side) and attacks the two researchers (characters) 18 seconds after the start. After 24 seconds a human character choses one of two weapons next to each other and launched a revenge attack on the ape. In the second 30-second movie t...

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog