PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) will organise the fifth Bal Vidhan Sabha in 2026 to promote democratic participation, leadership and awareness of child rights among children.
The commission’s secretary Shiv Kumar Barnwal has written a letter to chief education officers across the State. In the letter, he stated that this initiative aims to elect 70 boys and girls aged 14 to 16 from all 13 districts of the State to serve as child MLAs and child chief ministers.
To facilitate the formation of Bal Vidhan Sabha 2026 and ensure the successful conduct of the programme, schools and educational institutions in each Assembly constituency will identify and select one suitable and talented student as the primary candidate and one as a standby, based on the specified criteria and submit their names to the commission, he said.
Barnwal further informed that the selection of child MLAs will be conducted through an essay competition, as always. To streamline the selection process for Child MLAs, chief education officers will be appointed as nodal officers in their respective districts and the entire process will be managed at their level.
For this selection, children interested in becoming child MLAs will be required to write two essays of 250 words each on two topics. The first topic is, “What are the main issues affecting the public in their area and how will they address them as a Child MLA?” The second topic is, “If they become a Child MLA, what efforts will they make to protect children’s rights?”
The best essays on these topics will be used to select the appropriate child MLAs. Additionally, the essays submitted by all participating children will be preserved even after the selection process is completed, he informed.
