As the deadline ends on Thursday, over 1,000 orphanages in the State face an uncertain future as their managements say they are unable to comply with the State’s directive to get registered under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
A recent meeting of the Association of Orphanages and Charitable Institutions of Kerala decided to inform the authorities that they would opt for a shutdown rather than comply with the norms for registration under the JJ Act. Besides, they want the government to take over the protection of the nearly 50,000 children in orphanages across the State.
The orphanages all over the country were asked to register under the JJ Act by the Supreme Court through an order on May 5 last. The deadline set by the court for registration is December 31.
However, in Kerala, the deadline set by the State government expires on November 30. The early deadline, the authorities say, is to prepare a database of children as per the Supreme Court order.
President of the Association of Orphanages Mathew K. John told The Hindu that complying with the JJ Act would put a huge financial burden on the orphanages as it stipulated that an institution that accommodated 50 children should have at least 20 permanent and five temporary members on its staff.
“We need around ₹3 lakh a month to employ so many people, which most of us cannot afford. The infrastructure required for registration will be an added burden,” Fr.Mathew said.
However, Kozhikode District Child Protection Officer Sheeba Mumtaz said it was only a suggested staff pattern, which was not mandatory for registration. “However, the managements have to ensure 40 sq ft personal space for each child,” she said.
With the District Child Protection Officer heading the committee of each orphanage, the managements fear that they will lose control over their own institutions.
That they have to get the permission of the respective child welfare committee to take in a child is another restriction that the managements resent.
“Protection of the rights of the children is the only concern before the committee which consists of the officials concerned and management members,” Ms.Mumtaz said.
Meanwhile, the association maintained that the orphanages in Kerala were being run in a systematic manner and that their condition was much different from their counterparts in other States.
“More than 70% of the children in the orphanages in Kerala are not really orphans.
Instead, they come from dysfunctional or financially backward families. Or else they did not have good schools in their neighbourhood and, hence, chose to stay in the orphanages. They cannot be allowed to mix with children of criminal background.
They can also not be allowed to be made available for adoption as the Union Ministry of Women and Child Welfare has stipulated,” Fr.Mathew said.
