A State policy to safeguard the rights of children and to ensure their safety and protection will be implemented in the next few months, C. Selvakumar, Member of the Tamil Nadu Commission for Protection of Child Rights (TNCPCR) said on Wednesday.
Goa and Karnataka already have such a dedicated policy. Tamil Nadu will formulate a draft which will be based on the National Child Policy, but suited to the conditions prevailing here.
Mr. Selvakumar further said that the commission had recommended to the Tamil Nadu government not to extend recognition for 764 schools in the State that had not met the stipulated norms.
“These schools are dangerous for children due to poor quality infrastructure. The safety of children should not be compromised,” he said.
R. Vidyasagar, Former Child Protection Specialist from the UNICEF, said that the State specifically grappled with issues related to an increasing number of suicides by students as well as additional issues such as the regulation of private schools.
“A State-specific plan is the need of an hour as the current monitoring system leaves much to be desired. Mobile counselling vans meant for government and Corporation schools hardly reach them regularly and there needs to be a shift in focus from academics towards holistic development,” he added.
