Veedushi Sharma
Lack of adequate data on children of slums is a major difficulty in understanding their problems in right perspective. Contextually the problems of children of slums of Rajiv Nagar, Qasim Nagar, Belicharana and Labour Basti are specific with respect to child right to survival (health), right to development (education), right to participation (social) and right to protection from exploitation. The socio-economic-health and educational data provide ample evidence of their exploitation and discrimination.
Socio-Economic Status: Socio-economic level of the people of slums has been found the lowest. Nearly100 percent of householders are identified as landless. Main source of their income is from manual labour. Most of them are rickshaw pullers, street hawkers, cobblers and beggars. Safe drinking water is available to only 35 percent of the population. 68 percent households are without ration cards, 94 percent of population is without job-cards. Average income of the family ranges from Rs.2000 to 5000 per month. Majority of the householders are found without voter cards, caste certificates, BPL cards, therefore they could not avail the benefits of various centrally sponsored welfare schemes. Economic insecurity compels their children to enter labour market at the tender age.
Educational scenario of children in slums is dismal. They could not avail the opportunity of entering the portal of learning due to lack of affordability, availability and accessibility of education. Intervention of NGOs could not bring out substantial change in quality of education. Nearly 50 percent of children of slums of these areas have never been enrolled. Out of 50 percent enrolled, only 5 to 8percent reach class ten. Enrolment in higher education is almost zero.
On the parameters of health such as infant mortality rate, morbidity, stunted growth, and body mass index, they are low as compared to state and national levels. They are prone to physical illness and mental health on account of lack of sanitation and safe drinking water.
ISSUES: Infant Mortality Rate, Maternal Mortality Rate, Malnutrition, Early Childhood care, Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation; Right to Education, Registration of Births, Quality Education, Access and Retention in Schools ; Child Abuse and all kind of Economic Exploitation of Children and Child Right to Participation and choice in matters and decision affecting their lives are the major issues of great concern. Many of these fundamental issues could not be taken care of under constitutional safeguards and legislations; institutional frameworks and child welfare schemes.
Strategies
Right to survival: On the basis of 3600 feedback from the health and Anganwari workers of the slums, special camps of stakeholders should be organized for Immunization of pregnant women and infants which protects children from six vaccine preventable diseases- poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, tuberculosis and measles.
A Survey should be conducted for the identification of mal-nourished children. Young mothers should be educated about the importance of supplementary feedings, child’s growth monitoring and promotion.
Community toilets should be constructed to prevent open defecation. Lanes and drains should be maintained with active participation of stakeholders.. There should be a provision for safe drinking water in these areas in order to save the children from various diseases.
Right to Development: ‘No Child Left’ uneducated between the age of 6 to 14 years. Brilliant children should be identified and enrolled in private institutions. Cost of their education should be borne by the government. ‘Open School’ should come forward to bring the drop out into the mainstream of schooling. Short-term vocational courses for drop out should be organized so that they could be absorbed gainfully.
It should be mandatory on the part of implementing agency to get each child registered at birth.
Infrastructural facilities in the educational institutions (Anganwadis schools) have to be provided. Learning and games materials for the children should be demand driven as well as relevant to their growth and development.
The quality education is not available to marginalized section of the society on account of their inability to afford. It has been observed that “economically hard up parents soon discover that attendance in schools for one year-and even two years-has not meant any substantial improvement in the generic level of awareness of their children or in the content of their learning. Such a realization has sometimes led to the decision that it would make better sense to withdraw the children from school and to put them to work in fields or workshops, hereby adding immediately to the household income.’ Therefore, quality of education should get top most priority.
Right to Protection: Some of the drop outs/ not enrolled children have been found engaged in gambling, pick-pocketing and other nefarious anti-social activities. “Social distance” or “discrimination” is quite ubiquitous. Therefore, no child below the age of 14 should be in labour market as house servant, factory workers, vendor, beggars, cobblers, drugs carrier. Coordination between police, labour department, NGOs and stakeholders should be established for the effective enforcement of child rights.
Right to Participation: Space for games and sports facilities should be made available either in the institution or in the slum areas, where children can participate in various physical activities.
The children of slums should be provided opportunities to express and explore their creativity, talents or skills. The spirit of competitions should be developed among the children of these areas by participating in national or international day celebrations.
Participation in various camps or in educational tours has been found prerogative of privileged class studying in the private schools. Children of slums should also get opportunity of going for camps and tours to other parts of the state.
It is also incumbent upon the family to take the primary responsibility for meeting their children’s physical, emotional and intellectual needs and for providing moral guidance and direction. Community, educational institutions, religious organizations, health and service centres, and NGOs should come forward in creating an environment that is supportive of children of slum areas. Outcomes of Action oriented programmes should be measured in terms of behavioural changes in children of slums. The extreme economic insecurity, the constant threat of survival, lack of educational facilities, should not come in the ways of development of children of these areas. Coordination between various agencies should be mission-focused to prevent child labour, child abuse, and their exploitation and discrimination. Monitoring, Review and Reform of Policies, Programmes and Laws specific to slums children should be undertaken to ensure their interests and rights.
(The author is Dy Director Information (KBI)
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