The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Child tracking programme’ to prevent child labour soon

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Thursday, Jul 31, 2008
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Karnataka

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‘Child tracking programme’ to prevent child labour soon

Staff Reporter

It will bring 90 per cent of children under the department’s umbrella

It will monitor the progress of children from birth to adulthood
International Labour Organisation will help fund the initiative

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

NEW LIFE: Children from HAL slum in Bangalore who gave up working and joined school, sharing their experiences with Shalini Rajneesh, Secretary, Women and Child Development, on Wednesday.

Bangalore: In its attempt to combat child labour, the Department of Women and Child Development has proposed a “child tracking programme” to monitor the progress of children from birth to adulthood.

The department has sent a proposal to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which will coordinate the programme, said Shalini Rajneesh, Secretary, Department of Women and Child Development. “The aim is to monitor children, from birth to 18 years, through a computerised programme,” she said at the inauguration of a State-level workshop on the role of the department in combating child labour.

ILO will be helping with developing the software and in funding a part of the initiative, Sanjiv Kumar, National Project Coordinator, ILO Karnataka Child Labour Project, told presspersons here on Wednesday. “At present, the State has beneficiary tracking, but this is restricted only to those children who are part of certain government initiatives or children who have been rescued by the department,” he said. “This programme is more ambitious in that it hopes to bring 90 per cent of children in the State under its umbrella,” he said.

The tracking will begin with the registration of birth, and continue through anganwadis and schools, Mr. Kumar said. “However, this means that there needs to be a collaboration of all relevant departments — education, women and child development, rural development, social welfare — and also international agencies such as ILO and UNICEF,” he added.

Ms. Rajneesh that while it was important to pay attention to the rehabilitation and rescue of children involved in child labour, it was equally essential to understand the root of the problem. “We need to focus also on the condition of parents and ensure that education reaches women,” she said.

Speaking of the role of anganwadis in preventing child labour, she lamented the fact that less than 50 per cent of children are covered by anganwadis.

“Ensuring a 100 per cent inclusion of children in anganwadis should not be the sole responsibility of the department and anganwadi workers but also that of non-governmental organisations and self-help groups,” she said.

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