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Kathmandu Thursday November 22, 2001 Marga 07, 2058.
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Children’s
issues
The other day, the
country observed International Children’s Rights Day by releasing children who were
languishing in different jails along with parents serving sentences for sundry crimes. The
government released the children with the worthy aim of rehabilitating them. It has at
last paid heed to rights activists who had been raising their voice for a long time for
the release of such children from jail. However, there are some questions that remain
unanswered. How in practical terms is the government going to rehabilitate such children?
Has it really prepared itself for the task? What measures has this government taken
towards rehabilitation? Such children had neither been given any education, nor had the
government arranged any educational programme that would have led them towards
self-reliance. They have been living with adults who were directly or indirectly involved
in criminal activity. Such children may not cope well with the rehabilitation environment
the government has in mind for them. Their long and close association with parents inside
jails may affect them mentally once they are separated. Such reservations aside, the move
to set the children free from jail environments is of course good in itself.
Aside from this, the
government has vowed to provide compulsory primary education to all children, irrespective
of class and creed. But it has introduced no programme to educate the children of rural
poor. It has likewise neither done anything to encourage children to attend school nor
does it seem to realise the seriousness of the problem of school dropouts which has
increased as a result of ineffective monitoring. Half the children who have joined schools
in rural areas break off their studies as a result of poverty or lack of teachers.
State-run schools especially in remote areas remain without either teachers or educational
equipment, despite repeated demands by local inhabitants.
The government should
not ignore children who have been deprived of compulsory primary education. Over six
million children attend state run schools in this country. Half of them belong to families
which cannot afford two square meals a day. The government has remained unaware of or
uncaring about the provisions of existing law on children’s right to education. In
fact, successive governments have failed to provide education to all or implement existing
legal provisions concerning the rights of children. Every child has his or her right to
education and the government cannot let this right suffer as a result of poor
implementation. The district education officers who provide financial assistance to
schools and educational material have never fulfilled their duties. It is high time the
government realized the importance of education for all children and ensured their right
to schooling. Besides, thousands of children die of preventable disease every year and
this is a serious issue in itself. All these issues need to be raised now not just because
of International Children’s Rights Day. They have acquired added urgency lately with
the passage by parliament of the education amendment bill. The bill appears to be the
latest in a gradual move away by the government from its responsibilities in sectors such
as education and public health.
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