Child Development
Some Facts:
20% children under 5 years of age are wasted
48%
are stunted
70%
children between the age group of
6months and 59 months are anaemic
42.5%
children under the age of 5 years are
under-weight
As
per the Human Development Report 2011, India is far behind achieving the
Millennium Development Goal (MDG) set by the United Nations for Under Five
Mortality Rate (U5MR) of 42 per 1,000 live births by 2015. In 2009 India stood
at 64 deaths per 1000 live births against 31 in China.
(Data taken from various government newsletters
for the year 2012)
India is faced with a great
problem of addressing the needs of its children so that they can grow into
healthy youth of tomorrow and strive
towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that
the nation can constantly rise to higher levels of endeavour and achievement
as is enshrined in one of the fundamental duties of the Constitution of India.
The present article attempts at
bringing out the steps taken by the government to address this problem.
0. International Convention
0. International Convention
1. The National Policy
for Children, 1974
Thrust Areas of the Policy:
·
Reducing Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)
·
Reducing Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR)
·
Reducing Malnutrition among children
·
Achieving 100% civil registration of births
·
Universalization of early childhood care and
development and quality education for all children
·
Achieving 100% retention in schools including
pre-school
·
Complete abolition of female foeticide, female infanticide
and child marriage and ensuring the survival, development and protection of the
girl child
·
Improving water sanitation coverage both in
rural and urban areas
·
Securing the children all legal and social
protection from all kinds of abuse, exploitation and neglect
·
Complete abolition child labour with an aim of progressively
eliminating all forms of economic exploitation of children
·
Monitoring, review and reform of policies,
programmes and laws to ensure protection of children’s interest and rights
·
Ensuring child participation and choice in
matters and decision affecting their lives
2. Constitutional Provision
The Constitution of India provides for special treatment for
children and directs the State to take care of the education and health of the
children.
Article 15 allows the State to make any special provision
for women and children.
Article 21A: The State shall provide free and compulsory
education to all children of the age 6-14 years.
Article 24 no child of age below 14 years shall be employed
to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment
Article 45 The State shall endeavour to provide early
childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of
six.
Article 243 G 25th
item of the 11th schedule entrust programmes for women and child development
to the Panchayat
3. Legislations related to children
The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956
The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act
1994
The Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act (ITPA), 1956
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986
(Child Labour Technical Advisory Committee)
The Juvenile Justice Act 2000
The Prohibition Of Child Marriage Act, 2006
3. Institutional Framework for Child
Welfare
The National
Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)
The National
Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD)
The Central
Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)
(An
Autonomous body under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government
of India. Its mandate is to find loving caring parents for every orphan/
destitute/ surrendered child in the country)
4. Child Welfare Scheme
The
Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS)
The Right of
Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act
The Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyaan Scheme (SSA)
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