NVESTMENT IN CHILDREN IS INVESTMENT
IN FUTURE - NAJMA HEPTULLA
ONLY
A SOCIAL MOVEMENT INVOLVING ALL SECTIONS OF SOCIETY CAN CONVERT
OUR EFFORTS, TOWARDS ELIMINATION OF THE CHILD LABOUR BY 2007,
A SUCCESS - DR. SAHIB SINGH
THE LABOUR MINISTER ANNOUNCED RECOGNITION
AND PRIZES TO THE BEST PERFORMING DISTRICT MAGISTRATE AND NGO
FOR ELIMINATION OF CHILD LABOUR FOR 2003-04
Deputy Chairman Rajya
Sabha Dr. Najma Heptulla said that investment in children is in
fact investment for the future of India. She said the education
system of India should be suitably amended to include vocational
training particularly arts and crafts in order to preserve our
cultural heritage. She also said that it is generally argued in
the international fora that the involvement of children at work,
when they are supposed to study, should be banned but she said
such an approach would be counter productive in case of India,
where the parents are forced to send their children to work because
of extreme poverty. She said that she has also taken up the issue
of child labour in the Inter-Parliamentary union of which she
is President and she launched 'Say Yes to children' campaign.
Dr. Heptulla also extended all sorts of support for making the
elimination of child labour a success.
` Labour Minister
Dr. Sahib Singh said that we will have to involve all sections
of society to take up the gigantic issue of child labour in India.
Without their involvement we can not achieve the target of elimination
of child labour by 2007. He said that now that elementary education
is a fundamental right it is expected that this tool of education
will help in the elimination of child labour in India. Simultaneously,
we will also have to make concerted efforts towards elimination
of poverty in India which is the root cause of this problem. He
said there are one crore children working as child labour in the
country. We will have to draw a detailed account of all the one
crore children and to ensure that they and their families are
assisted by various programmes by the Government of India under
several ministries in a more focussed and meaningful way. We will
also have to conduct a kind of social audit to measure our speed
and impact at the ground level. He said that for the year 2003-04
the best performing District Magistrate and the best performing
NGO will be duly recognized and rewarded. He also exhorted ILO
that this international organization should also give the recognition
to agencies working in India and who have done commendably well
for the cause of elimination of child. In this way our organisations
will be honoured by international recognition.
The Secretary,
Ministry of Labour welcomed the major partners in this programme
for elimination of child labour viz. Chairpersons National Child
Labour Projects (NCLPs), NGOs, Labour Secretaries, Labour Commissioners
and the Hon'ble guests for the function. He said as a sequel to
multi-pronged integrated approach, NCLPs have been set up in 100
child labour endemic districts spread over 13 states in the country
under which children withdrawn from hazardous work are rehabilitated
through special bridging schools with provisions of non-formal/formal
education, vocational training, stipend, nutrition and health
check-up etc. 1.7 lakh children through 4002 special schools have
so far been mainstreamed into formal educational system. Various
other Central government Ministries such as HRD, Rural Development,
Women & Child Development, Social Justice & Empowerment,
Health, Finance and Planning Commission etc. also play important
role in synergizing the activities of schemes run by them with
the NCLPs. The Secretary also said that the Government has decided
to tackle the problem of elimination of child labour through a
sequential process beginning with the hazardous occupations and
processes followed by attempts at elimination in all other forms.
The inaugural
function of the National Conference on Elimination of Child Labour
began with the lighting of the lamp followed by an invocation.
The MOS (Labour) Shri Vijay Goel also spoke on the occasion. The
Additional Secretary, Labour gave vote of thanks in the end. The
National Conference has structured its sessions into presentations
and discussions, and formation of groups viz. Implementation Strategies;
Education and elimination of Child Labour; and Role of NGOs. The
afternoon session is devoted to the recommendations of the groups
and the conclusion.
