Thursday, 19 OCTOBER 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
With two back to back cases of the administrations having rescued students from illegally running madrassas in Nainital and Udham Singh districts where they were allegedly being exploited and made to do household works coming to the fore, the children rights activists have voiced grave concern over the vulnerability of children.
Commenting on the developments in the Islamic seminaries in the State, a member of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) Vinod Kaparwan said on Wednesday that with the issue of madrassa students being subjected to exploitation having come to the fore, the commission has decided to launch surprise inspection in these schools across the State. “We are really concerned over the plight of the students of these schools. During the inspection that we are planning to conduct, we will principally focus on the safety and well being of the children. We will go all the way to ensure that the children are well-treated in the schools,” he added.
He further said that aside from conducting inspections in the educational institutions to combat cases of children’s abuse and exploitation, the commission will urge schools to arrange awareness programmes on sexual abuse of the children so as to help the students understand what constitutes abuse. “Besides, the parents should also play pro-active roles in protecting their children from the sexual abuse menace,” he added.
The Doon-based clinical psychologist Dr Sona Kaushal Gupta said while talking to this correspondent on this matter that a worrisome spike in sexual abuse cases involving children in the State, particularly in the schools, has made all to sit up and think how this menace can be combated collectively. “The parents’ role can hardly be exaggerated in this matter. However, what we find is that most of the parents are not adequately aware of this menace that can imperil the mental health of the children who are subjected to such abuse and exploitation and this may keep haunting them even when they grow up. The children must be made aware of what constitutes the boundary of decent behaviour and what amounts to abuse. They are mostly ignorant of these things. The time has perhaps come when the government should include comprehensive sex education in the school curriculum,” she said.
She further said that there is no dearth of laws to prevent child abuse. “But these laws are not being enforced as much effectively as they should be in the State to combat the alarming surge in the incidences of child abuse,” she added.
