NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights which is mandated to spread child rights literacy held a one day Orientation cum Sensitization programme on ‘Child Rights: Contemporary Challenges in Telangana’ in Hyderabad today which was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Governor of Telangana and Lt. Governor of Puducherry, Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan said that children are like flowers and they should be handled carefully with love and care. She said, “It is disheartening to see cases of sexual harassment of children. Saying that mere laws can't protect the children and the mind-set of society needs to change, the Hon’ble Governer exhorted the parents to be a role model and mould the kids instead of just imposing conditions. “Happy and healthy children are the foundation of a progressive society” she opined.

The following issues were discussed during the workshop: 1. Timely identification of children related issues. 2. Lack of monitoring of Children Homes. 3. Convergence and information sharing with all important stakeholders. 4. Effective use of MASI portal. 5. Emerging issues related to cyber safety of children. 6. Child trafficking cases, knowledge sharing and their tracking for effecting action.

In today’s digital age, children use technology not only for attending school online classes, but also for recreation. Therefore, it is important that the commitment of the Government to provide a safe learning environment to children extends to the digital space as well. As per the NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) data of 2021 a total number of 1081 cases of Cyber Crimes against children were registered in India. Out of these, 164 cases were reported from Karnataka followed by Kerala (138), Andhra Pradesh (40),Tamilnadu (15) and Telangana (3). The NCPCR has developed a Manual on Safety and Security of Children in Schools. The manual also includes FAQs and a checklist for different stakeholders such as State/District authorities, school managements, teachers and students to understand the safety parameters put in place by the schools/educational institutions.

In order to monitor the Child care institutions (CCI) the NCPCR has developed an App base monitoring tool called ‘Monitoring App for Seamless Inspection’ (MASI). This App is helping the officials for seamless inspection of CCIs of their jurisdiction. Through this tool an online live data of CCIs inspection is available which is used by the officers for repatriation of children to their homes and track improvements done after first inspection visit to the next visit. The issue of child trafficking also came up for discussion in the workshop.

Earlier, welcoming the gathering, Smt. D. Divya, Special Secretary and Commissioner of Women Development and Child Welfare to Govt. of Telangana, said that all stakeholders, be it at the central or state government level should join hands to ensure that the children get safe and nourishing environment to grow up. She talked about the initiatives that the Telangana Government has undertaken like Bal Rakshak vechicles , Bharosa Centers, Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) , POCSO Courts etc to support women and children who are victims of violence.

The workshop was supported by Bharat Niti, a public policy advocacy platform and saw the participation of members of Child Welfare Committee, District Child Protection Officers, Advocates, NGOs working in the field of Child Rights, School Principals and Teachers. Activities like orientation on Cyber Crimes and Prevention, session on Child Trafficking and orientation session of MASI App were undertaken during the day long workshop. Source: PIB