The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Children rule House for a day

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Thursday, Nov 15, 2007
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Children rule House for a day

Staff Reporter

Children’s Parliament, interactive session organised by Balasabha

— Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

Little parliamentarians: The Children’s Parliament, organised by Balasabha in connection with the Children’s Day celebrations on Wednesday, in session.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Physical training will be made compulsory in schools from the next academic year, Minister for Law and Sports M. Vijayakumar has said.

He was responding to queries from the ‘elected representatives’ of Children’s Parliament, at an interactive session, organised by Balasabha in connection with the Children’s Day celebrations at the Old Assembly Hall of the Secretariat on Wednesday. (Balasabha is a project of Kudumbasree that enables children to voice their needs at the level of the local bodies.)

“We have already taken steps to include physical education as a part of the academic syllabus by providing emphasis on proficiency in sports and games,” he said.

The interactive session was also attended by Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy, Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac and Local Self-Government Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty.

The two-hour long session saw some thought provoking and probing queries by the children. The Ministers, especially Mr. Thomas Isaac and Mr. Paloli Mohammed Kutty, at times, grappled for convincing answers.

Quoting from newspaper reports, an ‘elected representative’ asked why the Finance Minister was not allocating sufficient money for other departments. “Allocating budget is not the prerogative of the Finance Minister alone,” Mr. Thomas Isaac replied with a smile. “Even at the family level you need to prepare a budget and prioritise your needs. Similarly, at the Government level too money is allotted to areas that should receive immediate attention,” he told them. “Our desires are endless but money is limited,” he added.

Ms. Sreemathy told the children that the government was actively considering the implementation of smart card in schools that indicated the health of each student. The Minister also added that a dispensary, complete with doctors and nurses, will start functioning at the Cotton Hill Government Girls High School in the city from December.

Janesha Usman, ‘deputy speaker’ and a class X student from Kaniyurpettah in Wayanad highlighted the plight of Adivasi children in Wayanad and their disinterest in becoming a part of the Balasabha to the Minister for Local-Self Government. Acknowledging the problem, the Minister said the issued could be resolved ‘only through conscious intervention in bringing the Adivasis to the mainstream of society.’ The interactive session was preceded with a sitting of the Parliament which culminated in a symbolic walk out by the members of the Opposition ‘protesting against tardy investigations into the massacre of children at Noida last year.’ The 140-member House comprised children in the age group of 7-14. The House was spread out in the form of a semi-circle with the ‘Speaker’ at the centre and elected representatives, including the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition seated on either side.

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