Child Rights

Situation Analysis

Prepared for Childreach International India partners and staff

By: Neeru Chaudhary

Development Consultant
Childreach International International India
Phone: +91 11 41042237, Email: info@childreachindia.org
www.childreachinternationalindia.org
CONTENTS

Chapter 1
India: The Country Scenario……………………………………………………….....page 5

Chapter 2
National and International Milestones……………………………….…………….page 8
Child Rights at a Glance…………………………………………………………….…….. page 10

Chapter 3
Child Rights Situation in India…………………………………………….….……..page 15
The Right to Survival…………………………………………………………………. Page 17
The Right to Development……………………………………………………………. Page 28
The Right to Protection………………………………………………………………. Page 35
The Right to Participation……………………………………………………………. Page 42

Chapter 4
Root Causes for Child Rights Violations…………………………..……….……page 47

Chapter 5
Budgetary Assessment……………………………………………………..…………….page 56

Chapter 6
Stakeholders – Role and Significance……………………………………….…...page 59

Chapter 7
Conclusion and the Way Forward ……………………………………………….…..page 65

2
ABBREVIATIONS

CABE Central Advisory Board of Education

CRSA Child Rights Situation Analysis
CRC Convention of Child Rights
CBO Community Based Organsiation
GNP Gross National Product
ICDS Integrated Child Development Services
ICPS Integrated Child Protection Scheme

IMR Infant Mortality Rate

MDG Millennium Development Goals

MMR Maternal Mortality Rate
NGO Non Government Organisation
NIPCCD National Institute of Public Cooperation and
Child Development
NMR Neo-natal Mortality Rate
NPAC National Plan of Action
PRI Panchayat Raj Institutions
SSA Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
UNCRC United Nations Convention of Child Rights
VO Voluntary Organisation
WEP Welfare Extension Projects

3
PREFACE

Dear Reader,

India, home to one fifth of the world’s children, ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in December 1992. Since
then, rapid economic growth has lifted millions out of poverty combined with government action to improve trends in child
survival and development. Despite this marked progress, many challenges for realizing child rights in India remain. Partly
because of its immensity, India experiences child rights deprivations in greater absolute numbers than any other country.
Rising incomes have been accompanied by widening disparities in income, education, access to health care and
development outcomes.

The Government of India and other stakeholders are working towards fulfilling child rights – and young people themselves
are voicing their priorities and embracing community involvement. Their continued participation and leadership will be critical
to achieving continued human progress in India during the years to come.

India has to get more aware on the fact that children own rights and have to come out of the welfare syndrome. Working
from a child rights perspective mean recognising children as rights holders and social actors, and creating child-friendly
environments. It implies using participatory and empowering approaches, working in partnerships and alliances for
promoting the rights of the child.

This CRSA provides a detailed view on all aspects concerning India, its children, their rights, underlying and root causes of
violation of their rights, discrimination against children and role of the duty bearers. The compiled study will not only help
Childreach India in formulating innovative approaches and strategies for the vulnerable children of the society but also act as
a reference material to sensitize the masses especially the decision makers.

At Childreach International India we work to ensure that children in India enjoy their rights and are committed to work in
tandem with the findings of CRSA. Our team has been working with a spirit of openness wherein not only we are eager to
learn from others but inspire them as well. We are confident in moving forward and strongly believe in the children and the
adults we work with.

The future holds great promise,

Your destiny unknown,
But God is always helping,
And you’re never alone
Soar bravely toward your goal
Let nothing darken the way
You can change your tomorrow,
If you seek your dream today

Naresh Chaudhary
Country Director

4
Chapter 1

INDIA: THE COUNTRY SCENARIO

A. INDIA

1. Structural and Administrative Overview

I
ndia, the largest democracy on earth and the second most populous country in the
world is known for its diversities and unity within diversities.

There are 28 states and 7 Union territories in India (in all about 626 Districts)1. It can
aptly be described as a subcontinent or a nation of nations! It has a billion plus
population stretched over land interspersed with belligerent topography, friendly to
hostile climatic conditions and natural barriers. 70 percent of its population lives in rural
India. Religion is an important dimension of the Indian culture.

The population is not evenly distributed over the country. It is highly concentrated in
some pockets, as much as 63.73 per cent of the population lives in 31.45 per cent of the
total area. The two states of Kerala and West Bengal have the highest population density
(750 per sq. km) followed by two in the Northern Indo-gangetic plain, Bihar and UP.2 The
North-Eastern zones are of low density. Shift in population due to migrancy from rural to
urban in the last few years has further aggravated the problems of density in urban
conglomerates.

Also the country is inhabited by a spectrum of socio-economic cohort, feudal social

undercurrent including gender bias, religious faith and cultural practices, linguistic
variations, habitation, pride and prejudices. Varied religious groups have thrived together
from time immemorial in this secular state. The principal religions are Hindu, Muslim,
Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain; Hindus being 82 per cent.

India also is a contrast – being home to supremely rich people as well as people living in
most abject poverty. Its social fabric has different shades divided on the basis of
richness, cast, religious considerations, literacy, gender and cultural ethos.
Understandably the nation has multiplicity of problems – relating to poverty, health,
livelihood causing social stress and giving rise to occasional political belligerence.

To administer a vast country like India with its federal structure, there is union
government with large ministries followed by various boards and commissions - a replica
of the same is established at state head quarters. There is thus, at times, on observes,
certain problems of cohesion and insufficient coordination particularly at micro-level

5
(Districts/Community Development Blocks - each state is further divided into - for
administrative convenience and efficiencies).

Besides the government’s own ministries responsible for varied sectors of social welfare,
India hosts a large number of international, bi-lateral, multi-lateral and United Nations
agencies as well as various non-government organizations which work with/ without
collaboration of Indian Government (ministries) on various developmental issues and
sectors. Also India has a large number of institutions - academic, professionals,
international development agencies that keep doing/sponsoring different studies
(situational status and impact evaluations) on social sectors as per their respective
agenda (mandate). There is thus a large volume of data generated on same variable but
with varying parameters - base period, survey design, geographic and sample coverage,
target respondents, specific aspects under investigations etc. This makes it challenging
to generate compatible and comparable survey estimates.

B. CHILD IN INDIA
1. Cultural and Historical Overview

India's commitment to the cause of children is as old as its civilization. It has been a
time honoured belief in its culture that the child is a gift of the Gods - a gift that must be
nurtured with care and affection, within the family and the society. Unfortunately, over
the years in the pre-independence period, due to socioeconomic and cultural changes,
the code of child centeredness got replaced by neglect, abuse and deprivation,
particularly in the poverty afflicted sections of the society. From being advantaged
children plummeted into a disadvantaged group.

During the period stretching across from the eleventh to seventeenth centuries, the
early legal statements were conspicuously silent on children’s rights. The Ten
Commandments, arguably the most influential of all legal codes, contain a clear
normative pronouncement on parent-child relations. One of the earliest recognitions
of children’s rights perhaps is found in the Massachusetts Body of Liberties of 1641
where parents are told not to choose their children’s mates and not to use unnatural
severity against their children. Children, furthermore, were given ‘free liberty to
complain to the Authorities for redress’. But this was also the law that prescribed the
death penalty for children over 16 who disobeyed parents. There is no evidence
though that children did successfully litigate against their parents and nor is there any
that disobedient children were executed. The document, nevertheless, remains
interesting in showing, as it does, that even some 365 years ago protection of
children went hand in hand with adding the power of the s tate to parental
authority.3

The eighteenth century as well can hardly be said to be identified with children’s
rights. The nineteenth century, however, saw the birth of the child-saving movement,
the growth of the orphanage, the development of child protection legislations,
schooling and the c onstruction of separate institutions, including the juvenile courts,
for delinquent children, in different parts of the w estern world. One of the reasons for
this kind of development was that in the wake of Industrial Revolution there was
6
 severe exploitation of many working class children.

The period from mid-nineteenth to the mid- twentieth century – aimed not merely
at achieving political independence from the British rule, but also at reinvigorating
the debilitated sunken society of India which under decades of slavery had lost its
initiative, values and vitality. It was the endeavour of leaders like Raja Ram Mohan
Ray, Mahatma Gandhi and others to awaken the people and rouse them to overcome
their backwardness, be it in the shape of illiteracy or socio-cultural practices like
child marriage or neglect in the upbringing of children, etc. Consequently, the care of
the child came to be viewed upon as a vital element in the resurrection of the
nation. Mahatma Gandhi and later Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, in person, gave much of
their time to inculcate social concern for the citizens of tomorrow.

2. Current Overview

With the figure of 446 million, India is home to the largest number of children in the
world. Millions more are born every year, far more than in any other country. But what
distinguishes India is not merely the sheer numbers, rather the intricate and complex
pattern of differences that emerges through gender, caste and geography.

Out of a hundred children born today:

35 of these births will be registered

93 will make it to their first birthdays
51 will be fully immunized 5 will die of malnutrition
42 will remain underweight which will affect their performance throughout their lives
25 will complete primary school4

Furthermore, these numbers vary greatly when gender is taken into account. For
example in Uttar Pradesh, 70 percent boys aged 6-10 years attend school but only 43
percent of girls. Add to this the place where a child is born and his or her caste and
further inequalities emerge. Malnutrition in India currently stands at 47 percent but the
figure for scheduled castes is 54 percent and for scheduled tribes, it is even higher at 56
percent5. Only by examining these differences, can we really begin to understand the
chances of a child’s survival, good health, equitable access to education and protection
from exploitation and harm.

The marked disparities between regions and social groups, between rich and poor, and
between the sexes mean that there is no straight forward way to overcome the obstacles
preventing so many children form reaching their potential.

7
Chapter 2

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MILESTONES

I
ndependence ushered a new era in the field of child welfare and child development.
The Indian Constitution has a framework within which provisions are available for
protection, development and welfare of children. There are a wide range of laws
which guarantee to a substantial extent the rights and entitlement as provided in the
Constitution and in the UN Convention.

Apart from these laws mainly concerning children, there are a host of related welfare and
criminal laws which have beneficial provisions for the care and protection of children.
Even the laws relating to commerce, industry and trade have protective provisions
beneficial to children.

The most significant development of fifties was the establishment of the Central Social
Welfare Board in 1953. It was set up to assist voluntary organisations and mobilise their
support and cooperation in the development of social welfare services, especially for
women and children. At that time most voluntary welfare organisations were located in
urban areas. In 1954, the Board launched the Welfare Extension Projects (WEP) to cater
to the rural population. Several activities were taken up under the WEP. It was during
this decade that the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child was adopted by the UN
General Assembly. This Declaration was accepted by the Indian Government, thus
affirming its concern for children.

As part of Five Year Plans, several programmes launched by the Government aimed at
providing services to children, in the areas of health, nutrition, education and protection.
In 1974, the Government of India adopted a National Policy for Children, declaring the
nation's children as `supremely important assets'.

The fifth five year plan saw a shift in focus from child welfare to child development. The
National Children's Fund was instituted by the Government to provide financial
assistance to voluntary organisations for undertaking innovative child welfare
programmes. It was around 1974 that the perspective of `integration' dominated
Government's thinking. Efforts were made to examine the feasibility of integrating early
services for children covering supplementary nutrition, immunization, health care which
included referral services, nutrition, and education of mothers, preschool education,
family planning and provision of safe drinking water. These efforts led to the emergence
of a new package of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme, in 1975,
covering children less than six years and nursing and expectant mothers.

Another landmark in the seventies was the setting up of the National Institute of Public
Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD). Set up in 1975 as an autonomous body,
it was identified as an apex body for training of workers in child welfare. The ICDS
functionaries are trained by NIPCCD. It also assists the Government in all technical

8
matters related to child development and promotion of voluntary action in social
development.

The problem of working children and their welfare received attention of the planners
for the first time during the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1980-1985) and a Central Child
Labour Advisory Board was set up. National Health Policy got formulated in the year
1983.

The Seventh Five-Year Plan (1985-90) led to spatial expansion and enrichment of
child development services. The Department of Women and Child Development was set
up in the ministry of Human Resource Development, in 1985.

On December 11, 1992 India ratified the United Nation Convention on Child Rights, often
referred to as CRC. UNCRC is an international convention setting out the civil, political,
economic, social and cultural rights of children. Nations that ratify this international
convention are bound to it by international law. Compliance is monitored by the United
Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child which is composed of members from
countries around the world. Once a year, the Committee submits a report to the Third
Committee of the United Nations General Assembly.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention and opened it for
signature on 20 November 1989 (the 30th anniversary of its Declaration of the Rights of
the Child). It came into force on 2 September 1990, after it was ratified by the required
number of nations. As of November 2009, 194 countries have ratified it, including every
member of the United Nations except Somalia and the United States. Somalia's cabinet
ministers have announced plans to ratify the treaty.

Two optional protocols were adopted on 25 May 2000. The first restricts the involvement
of children in military conflicts, and the second prohibits the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography. Both protocols have been ratified by more than 120
states. India ratified these protocols in the year 2002.6

9
 RIGHTS AT A GLANCE
The Four Key Areas of Child Rights7
SURVIVAL DEVELOPMENT PROTECTION PARTICIPATION
7 Immediate Registration after Birth
8 Preservation of Identity
9 Non Separation from Parents unless in best
interest of child
10 Deal Family Reunification positively
11 Ban Illicit Transfer of Children
12 Due weightage to the Child’s opinion
13 Freedom of Expression
14 Freedom of thought conscience and religion
15 Freedom of association
16 Protection of Privacy
17 Access to Information
18 Equal Responsibility of Each Parent
19 Protection from Abuse
20 Suitable Placement of Children without Family
21 Adoption in the best interest of Child
22 Assistance to Refugee Children
23 Ensure Full and Decent Life for
Children with Disabilities
24 Ensure Complete Health
Care
25 Review Treatment and Placement of Children with
Special Needs
26 Benefit from Social Security
and Insurance
27 Ensure adequate Standard
of Living
28 Ensure Education for All
29 Education to lead to fullest potential
30 Children of minorities or indigenous
populations to enjoy own culture
Leisure and Cultural Activities
32 Child Labour
33 Drug Abuse
34 Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
35 Abduction and Trafficking
36 All Other Exploitation
37 Torture and Deprivation of Liberty. No Capital
Punishment or Life Imprisonment
38 Armed Conflict
39 Rehabilitation of Victimised Child
40 Juvenile Justice for Victims
41 Respect for High Standards in national and international laws
42 Take measures for Promotion of the Convention
43- Establish Committee on the Rights of the Child and Submit five-yearly reports
44
45- Procedural Matters
54

10
The Eighth Five Year Plan (1992-1997) recognised "human development" as the
core of all developmental efforts. The plan marked the adoption of two National Plans of
Action in 1992 – one for children and the other exclusively for the girl child.

In the Ninth Five-Year Plan (1997-2002), efforts were made to expedite effective
implementation and achievement of the goals set in the two Plans of Action besides
instituting a National Charter for Children to ensure that no child remains illiterate, hungry
or lacks medical care.

The Tenth Five-Year Plan (2002-2007) advocated an integrated rights-based

approach to ensure the survival, development, protection and participation of children.
The government acknowledged that the human and economic development of the
country will depend on the seven states, all with a poor human development record,
because they constitute almost half of India’s population. It therefore focused on its
development programmes in the most disadvantaged states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, along with UNICEF.

Having accepted the Millennium Summit Declaration of 2000 and in order to achieve the
targets set by the UNCRC, the Ministry of Women and Child Development subsequently
drew up a fresh National Plan of Action for Children in the year 2005 with a hope that it
would provide a roadmap for steps to be taken for bringing about improvement in the
lives of Indian children.

The Guiding Principles of the NPAC 2005 are:

To regard the child as an asset and a person with human rights ; To address issues of discrimination
emanating from biases of gender, class, caste, race, religion and legal status in order to ensure equality;
To accord utmost priority to the most disadvantaged, poorest of the poor and the least served child in all
policy and programme interventions; To recognize the diverse stages and settings of childhood, and
address the needs of each, providing all children the entitlements that fulfil their rights and meet their
needs in each situation.

The Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-2012) prepared by the Planning Commission

emphatically stated that ‘Development of the child is at the centre of the Eleventh Plan’.
While continuing with the rights-based approach to child development, the plan
recognises the importance of a holistic approach, focusing both on outcomes and
indicators for child development as well as macro-perspective trends and governance
issues. The Eleventh Plan therefore offers a fresh opportunity to work towards these
objectives and fulfil India’s commitments to its children as laid out in the Constitution
of India, the UNCRC, the National Plan of Action for Children, 2005, the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) and the Xth and XIth five year plans.8

11
 OTHER NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS
AT A GLANCE
WITH RESPECT TO THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

RIGHT TO  Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

SURVIVAL  Educate child mortality
 Improve maternal health
 Combat HIV/ AIDS, malaria and other diseases
 Ensure environmental sustainability
RIGHT TO  Achieve universal primary education
DEVELOPMENT
RIGHT TO  Promote gender equality and empower women
PROTECTION
RIGHT TO  Develop a global partnership for development
PARTICIPATION

NATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION 2005

RIGHT TO  Reducing Infant Mortality Rate

SURVIVAL  Reducing Maternal Mortality Rate.
 Reducing Malnutrition among children.
 Improving Water and Sanitation coverage both in rural and urban areas.
RIGHT TO  Universalization of early childhood care and development and quality
DEVELOPMENT education for all children.
RIGHT TO  Complete abolition of child labour
PROTECTION  Complete abolition of female foeticide, infanticide and child marriage and
protection of the girl child.
 Protection for all children from all kinds of abuse, exploitation and neglect
Addressing and upholding the rights of children in difficult circumstances
 Monitoring, Review and Reform of policies and laws to ensure child’s
protection
RIGHT TO  Achieving 100% civil registration of births. Ensuring child participation
PARTICIPATION and choice in matters affecting their lives.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA’s Xth V year Plan (2002-2007)

RIGHT TO  Reduction of poverty ratio by 5 percentage points by 2007;

SURVIVAL  Reduction in the decadal rate of population growth between 2001 and 2011
to 16.2%
 Reduction of Infant mortality rate (IMR) to 45 per 1000 live births by 2007
and to 28 by 2012
 Reduction of Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) to 2 per 1000 live births by
2007 and to 1 by 2012
 All villages to have sustained access to potable drinking water within the

12
 Plan period
RIGHT TO  Increase in Literacy Rates to 75 per cent within the Tenth Plan period
DEVELOPMENT (2002 to 2007)
 All children in India in school by 2003; all children to complete 5 years of
schooling by 2007
 Reduction in gender gaps in literacy and wage rates by at least 50% by
2007

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA’s XIth V year Plan (2007-2012)

RIGHT TO  Reduce poverty by 10 percentage points.

SURVIVAL  Reduce infant mortality rate to 28 and maternal mortality ratio to 1 per
1000 live births
 Reduce Total Fertility Rate to 2:1
 Provide clean drinking water for all by 2009 and ensure that there are no
slip-backs
 Reduce malnutrition among children of age group 0-3 to half its present
level
 Reduce anaemia among women and girls by 50%
RIGHT TO  Reduce dropout rates of children from elementary school from 52.2% in
DEVELOPMENT 2003-04 to 20% by 2011-12
 Develop minimum standards of educational attainment in elementary
school, and by regular testing monitor effectiveness of education to ensure
quality
 Increase literacy rate for persons of age 7 years or above to 85%
 Lower gender gap in literacy to 10 percentage point
 Increase the percentage of each cohort going to higher education from the
present 10% to 15% by the end of the plan
RIGHT TO  Raise the sex ratio for age group 0-6 to 935 by 2011-12 and to 950 by
PROTECTION 2016-17
 Ensure that at least 33 percent of the direct and indirect beneficiaries of all
government schemes are women and girl children
 Ensure that all children enjoy a safe childhood, without any compulsion to
work

From the Seventh Five-Year Plan onwards, the judiciary and the Supreme Court too
have played an active role in upholding the rights of the child. The Supreme Court of
India has developed the concept of jurisdiction under which any individual can approach
the Court with regard to the violation of a fundamental right. The Supreme Court has
also modified traditional concepts by allowing groups of persons or organizations
to intervene in cases relating to violations of fundamental rights even though
they may not have been affected personally in the matter.

In accomplishing the milestones, both at the national and international level, the non-
governmental and civil society organizations have played an equally important role
along with the Government in virtually every aspect concerning children. The media
too has played a critical role in shaping public opinion and creating mass awareness.

13
The Government of India and UNICEF collaborative initiatives over the years have
focussed on enhancing the capacities of the electronic and print media personnel
in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting so as to integrate and represent
issues concerning children and their rights effectively. As a result, the media is
gradually focussing on children’s issues in a qualitative way. This is certainly a positive
sign for the future and it is hoped that the media will increase its responsibility to
include monitoring of child rights violations in a significant and persistent manner.

14
Chapter 3

CHILD RIGHTS SITUATION IN INDIA

T
he CRC is “the most complete statement of child rights ever made”. It takes the
ten principles of the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child, and expands them
to 54 articles, of which 41 relate specifically to the rights of children, covering
almost every aspect of a child’s life. The Convention aims to create a balance between
the rights of children and those of the parents or adults responsible for their survival,
development and protection. This is achieved by according children the right to
participate in decisions concerning them and their future. It is, thus, a holistic document
for each article is intertwined with the other. The rights defined in the Convention are
interdependent; as none of the articles can be dealt in isolation.

Though a lot has been said and written about rights of the child following the ratification
of UNCRC in India, the Indian government and its society are yet to develop a rights-
based perspective. Children are still looked upon as the vulnerable population of the
society, whose needs are to be met and it has to be protected rather than empowered!

Understanding the difference between the rights and the needs perspective will help the
stakeholders evaluate the ideology behind their actions.9

NEEDS vs RIGHTS

Needs Perspective Rights Perspective

Private Charity
Voluntary
Welfare, alms, charity
Address symptoms
Partial goals (ex: 80% children
immunized, aim to deliver services to
largest number of people)
Hierarchy of needs. Some needs are
more important than others. (e.g. food
before education)
Needs vary according to the situation, Rights
Public, political, moral and legal
responsibility, obligation, duty
Mandatory
Legal entitlement, claims guarantees
justice, equality, freedom
Address root causes
Complete goals – all people have the
same rights (80% immunization
coverage means the right to
immunization has not been realized)
Rights cannot be divided, they are
indivisible and interdependent
are universal (the same
15
Needs Perspective Rights Perspective
the individual and the environment everywhere)
Providing welfare services (object of Empowering (subject of rights). Rights
needs) holders (are empowered to) claim
their rights
Determination of needs is subjective Rights are based on international
standards
Short-term perspective, filling gaps Long term perspective
Service provision Awareness raising of all groups
(parents, children, decision makers
Specific projects targeting specific Holistic approach
groups of children
Children deserve help Children are entitled to help
Governments ought to do something Governments have binding legal and
but nobody has definite obligations moral obligations
Children can participate in order to Children are active participants by
improve service delivery right
Given scarce resources some children All child have the same rights to fulfil
may be left out their potential
Each piece of work has its goal but There is an overarching goal to which
there is no unifying purpose all work contributes
Certain groups have technical All adults can play a role in achieving
expertise to meet children needs children’s rights (and children as
well)

16
 I. THE RIGHT TO SURVIVAL

Critical Concerns10

 Every fifth child in the world lives in India;

 Every third malnourished child in the world lives in India;
 Every second Indian Child is underweight;
 Three out of four children in India are anaemic;
 Every second new born has reduced learning capacity due to iodine deficiency;
 Decline in female/ male ratio is maximum in 0-6 years: 933 females per 1000 males;
 India accounts for 35 per cent of the developing world’s low birth weight babies and 40 per cent of
child malnutrition in developing countries, one of the highest levels in the world;
 Infant mortality in India is as high as 57 deaths per 1,000 live births; most infant deaths occur in the
first month of life; up to 47 per cent in the first week itself;
 MMR is equally high at 407 per 1000 live births;
 More than two million children die every year from preventable infections;
 Only three out of every four households have toilets;
 India has the second highest national total of persons living with HIV/AIDS after the Republic of
South Africa;
 According to the 2001 Census Report, amongst all persons living with disability, 35.9 per cent (46,
38, and 26,702) are children and young adults in the 0-19 age group.

H
ealth well being of the population is considered as an economic asset and a pre-
requisite for national development. Nutrition and Health are two sides of the
same coin and are, therefore, inseparable. While good health is the ultimate
objective of nutrition, nutrition is the vital component of health. Nutrition is increasingly
being recognized as an important indicator of development at national and international
levels.

Undernutrition or malnutrition contributes to 60% of the 10 million deaths globally that

occur every year among children under five years of age. Its contribution to child deaths
is even higher during first six months of life, when mortality is highest.

17
Key Indicators of the Deficit in Development of Children in India for the period 2005-200611

S.no. States Children under

Infant Mortality Coverage
age 3 who are Vaccination Drop Out rates in
Rate (per 1000 institutional
underweight coverage (in %) class (I-X) (in %)
live births) deliveries (in %)
(in %)
1 Uttar Pradesh 73 47 23 22 43.77
2 Chattisgarh 71 52 49 15.7 *
3 Madhya Pradesh 70 60 40 29.7 64.7
4 Jharkhand 69 59 35 19.2 *
5 Assam 66 40 32 22.37 74.96
6 Orissa 65 44 52 38.7 64.42
7 Rajasthan 65 44 27 32.2 73.87
8 Bihar 62 58 33 22 83.06
9 Arunachal Pradesh 61 37 28 30.8 70.79
10 Andhra Pradesh 53 37 46 68.6 63.69
11 Tripura 52 39 50 48.9 73.36
12 Gujarat 50 47 45 54.6 59.29
13 Delhi 40 33 63 60.7 46.92
14 West Bengal 48 44 64 43.1 78.03
15 Jammu & Kashmir 45 29 67 54.3 53.75
16 Meghalaya 45 46 33 29.7 79.15
17 Karnataka 43 41 55 66.9 59.38
18 Uttaranchal 42 38 60 39 32.42
19 Haryana 42 42 65 39.4 32.48
20 Punjab 42 27 60 52.5 44.06
21 Nagaland 38 30 21 12.2 67.29
22 Maharashtra 36 40 59 66.1 54.16
23 HP 36 36 74 45.3 32.42
24 Mizoram 34 22 46 64.6 66.95
25 Sikkim 34 23 70 49 82.3
26 Tamilnadu 31 33 81 90.4 55.19
27 Manipur 30 24 47 49.3 43.02
28 Goa 15 29 79 92.6 40.65
29 Kerala 15 29 75 99.5 7.15
30 India 57 46 44 40.7 61.92

Notes : *Dropout rates are shown combined with the respective parent state.
# The drop out rate (ClassI-X) figure for Himachal Pradesh is for the year 2003-04.
Sources :1. National Family Health Survey (NFHS)) – 3, Provisional Data for India and 29 states (Fast
Sheets), 2005-2006, downloaded from www.nfhsindia.org
(for data on – IMR per 1000 live births, Children under age 3 who are underweight, Vaccination
Coverage, and Coverage of Institutional Deliveries)

18
CURRENT NUTRITION AND HEALTH SCENARIO IN INDIA

There has been a conquest of nutritional deficiencies – Florid Nutritional Deficiency

Syndromes like Pellagra, Beri Beri, Scurvy, Kwashiorkar have disappeared, famines are
no more, severe malnutrition among preschoolers has reduced appreciably and
nutritional status of adults has improved significantly.

The Challenge that still remains include –

 High Malnutrition Levels particularly in Women and Children

 Undernutrition
 Micronutrient Malnutrition
 Emerging diet related diseases,
 High Mortality Rates-IMR, U5MR and MMR
 Inadequate Access to Health Care, Immunization etc.

The most widely used indicator of child survival is infant mortality rate (IMR), which
measures the number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births during the year. In India, as
per the latest Census, the IMR is still very high. Infant deaths (deaths below age of one
year) are indicative of wastage of human life. They also reflect the state of maternal and
child health services, access to them, and extent of utilisation.

A. HEALTH CHALLENGES

1. Infant and Neonatal mortality

Major investments in child health in India have not yielded any substantial decline in
maternal, infant and young child mortality in the recent decade.

The major causes of neonatal death in India resemble the global picture with infections,
prematurity and asphyxia as the leading causes. About a third of all neonatal deaths
occur on the first day of life. Approximately an additional one third of deaths occur
between the first and seventh day of life. Preventing a substantial proportion of neonatal
deaths requires appropriate postnatal care, especially immediately after birth.

However, only 42.3 percent of deliveries are attended by a health professional. Two
thirds of all deliveries (66.4 percent) occur at home. The proportion of home deliveries is
particularly high in rural areas (75.3 percent) where over three quarters of the
population lives. Among home deliveries, a postnatal contact with a health professional
occurs only in 2.3 percent during the first two days after delivery, 5.2 percent during the
first week and 16.5 percent at any time during the 2 month period following delivery.12
Health care seeking is usually delayed because of lack of recognition of signs of early
illness, cultural factors and situational constraints.

19
Inappropriate newborn care practices are highly prevalent. The importance of keeping
the baby warm is not understood, resulting in about 20 percent babies becoming
hypothermic in the first few days of life.13

1. Malnutrition

Undernutrition is defined as the outcome of insufficient food intake (hunger) and

repeated infectious diseases. Undernutrition includes underweight (being underweight
for ones age), stunted (being too short for ones age), wasted (being dangerously thin),
and micronutrient malnutrition (being deficient in vitamins and minerals). The prevalence
of low birth weight continues to be about 30% for last three decades.14 Low birth weight
babies are more likely to die because of neonatal infections and under nutrition.

Source: WHO 2002; Lancet 2003

Figure 1: Malnutrition and under-five Mortality

As per National Family Health Survey 2 (1998-99), 47% of children under three years
are underweight, 45.5% stunted and 15.5% wasted. India fares poorly even among the
South East Asian countries, occupying the third place from the bottom with only Nepal
and Bangladesh faring worse than India.

Iron Deficiency Anaemia prevalence continues to be high particularly among the high risk
groups like children under 5 years, adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women.
About 68-78 per cent of these population groups suffer from anaemia.15

Vitamin A Deficiency continues to be a problem of public health significance among pre-

school children with prevalence of Bigot spots, an objective sign of vitamin A deficiency
being equal to or more than WHO cut off level of 0.5%. No state in India is free from
Iodine Deficiency Disorders. The total goiter rate (TGR) in 260 districts out of 321
districts surveyed is reported to be more than 10%.16

Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months can cut down about 15% of all child
deaths. However in India only about 20% women are able to practice exclusive
breastfeeding for six months. Adequate complementary feeding between six months to

20
24 months could prevent an additional 6 per cent of all such deaths. This means that
extending coverage of exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding could save
over 450,000 child deaths each year in India.17 Late initiation of breastfeeding not only
deprives the child of the valuable colostrum, but becomes a reason for introduction of
pre-lacteal feeds like glucose water, honey, ghutti, animal or powder milk which are
potentially harmful and invariably contribute to diarrhoea in the new born. Late initiation
of breastfeeding also causes engorgement of breasts which further hampers
establishment of successful lactation.

Children born under-weight have impaired immune function and increased risk of
diseases such as diabetes and heart disease in their later life. Malnourished children who
survive tend to have lower I.Q. and impaired cognitive ability thus affecting their school
performance and then the productivity in their later life. Such a vicious cycle of nutrition
and development is not widely acknowledged and has very weak influence in policy
making. It has to be realised that the nutritional health in all age groups represents a
national economic asset.

2. Maternal Mortality

Source: 11th five-year plan (2007-2012) - Report of the Working Group on Integrating Nutrition with
Health, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, November 2006

Child mortality and undernutrition are closely linked with the health and nutritional
status of the mother, and the care and services she receives during pregnancy and child
birth. In India this is still far from the fact that the distribution of causes has not changed
dramatically over the last 20 years. The main causes of MMR are: (i) Hemorrhage, both
ante-partum and post-partum; (ii) pregnancy-induced hypertension (eclampsia); and (iii)
infection. Only 20 percent receive the sufficient level of recommended antenatal care.18

Expanding urbanization results in more families that depend on informal or intermittent

employment with uncertain incomes and few or no maternity benefits. Both self-
employed and nominally employed rural women face heavy workloads, usually with no
maternity protection. Meanwhile, traditional family and community support structures
are being eroded, resources devoted to supporting health and, especially, nutrition-

21
related, services are dwindling and accurate information on optimal feeding practices is
lacking.

The HIV pandemic and the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV through
breastfeeding pose unique challenges to the promotion of breastfeeding, even among
unaffected families.

Complex emergencies, which are often characterized by population displacement, food

insecurity and armed conflict, are increasing in number and intensity, further
compromising the care and feeding of infants and young children the world over.
Refugees and internally displaced persons alone currently number more than 40 million,
including 5.5 million under-five children.19

3. Immunization

Immunization is one of the most cost effective public health interventions available. Yet,
a large proportion of vulnerable infants and children in India are not receiving this simple
intervention. Across India in 2006-07, only 62% of children 12-23 months had received
all six of their primary vaccines, with a wide variation among states.20

States with poorer immunization rates are generally the same states with higher infant
mortality. India also has the largest number of infants who reach their first birthday not
fully immunized. Children in India continue to lose their life to vaccine-preventable
diseases such as measles, which remains the biggest killer. Tetanus in newborns remain
a problem in at least five states: Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West
Bengal, and Assam. The number of polio cases in India declined from 1,934 in 1998 to
268 in 2001. There was a setback in 2002 as 1,600 cases were confirmed at the end of
the year, 2009 reported 741 polio cases. However, the proportion of children who receive
vaccination against measles has dropped considerably, from 72% in 1995 to a low of
50% in 1999. It now stands at 61%.21

4. Water, Sanitation and Environment

An estimated 400,000 children under five years of age die each year due to diarrhea, the
major cause of death amongst children, after respiratory- tract infections. Several million
more suffer from multiple episodes of diarrhoea and still others fall ill on account of
Hepatitis A, enteric fever, intestinal worms and eye and skin infections caused by poor
hygiene and unsafe drinking water. Unhygienic practices and unsafe drinking water are
some of its main causes.

Where more than 122 million households in the country are without toilets and a
staggering 665 million defecate in the open, excessive arsenic and fluoride in drinking
water pose a major health threat, in some parts of the country.22

22
Availability of protected drinking water sources has improved significantly over the past
few years, yet protecting it from faecal contamination remains a major challenge
because of a widespread lack of sanitation and water pollution.

Most rural water supply systems, especially the hand-pumps generally used by the poor,
are using groundwater. But inadequate maintenance and neglect of the environment
around water sources has led to increasing levels of groundwater pollution. In many
areas, the problem is exacerbated by falling levels of groundwater, mainly caused by
increasing extraction for irrigation.

Efforts are being made to protect vulnerable water sources by maintaining water
systems, monitor and regulate water quality, constructing platforms and drainage around
hand-pumps and propagating home hygiene practices, the sanitary use of toilets and
washing hands with soap or ash.

5. HIV/ AIDS

HIV emerged later in India than it did in many other countries. The first case of
HIV/AIDS was reported in India in Tamil Nadu in 1986. Since then the virus has spread
from the high-risk groups to the general population very fast. Today, there are 5.7
million people living with HIV/AIDS in India. Nationally, more men are HIV positive than
women. The prevalence rate is 0.43% for adult males while it is 0.29% for females. For
every 100 people living with HIV/ AIDS, 61 are men and 39 women. Prevalence is also
high in the 15-49 age group.23 India has an estimated 220,000 children infected by
HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that 55,000 to 60,000 children are born every year to mothers
who are HIV positive. Without treatment, these newborns stand an estimated 30%
chance of becoming infected during the mother’s pregnancy, or through after six
months. There is effective treatment breastfeeding available, but this is not reaching all
women and children who need it.24

Despite other measures to prevent and control HIV/ AIDS in adolescents and adults,
children have the right to information and services to help them avoid HIV. The HIV
epidemic in India is creating a new class of children who need care and support; these
are children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS.

B. THE DEVELOPMENT PARADOX

The paradox is that while India is now in the front ranks of fast growing global
economies, with a vibrant economic growth rate of around 7%, nearly 30% of the global
burden of child deaths is borne by India.25 Economic growth is, at best, a slow and
undependable way of eliminating child undernutrition. While income poverty in India is
reduced to 26% - underweight prevalence in children under three years remains at 47%,
reinforcing the argument that economic growth is a necessary, but not sufficient
condition for improvements in young child survival, nutrition and development.26

23
It is much more effective to prevent malnutrition, before it occurs – than to only deal
with it after it has set in, because growth and development deficits in young children are
cumulative and often irreversible. Accelerated large-scale reductions in the unacceptably
and persistently high malnutrition rates are only possible when there is clear emphasis
on early action.

The above analysis calls for priority attention to integrated early childhood development
and child health approaches as the most effective way of breaking an intergenerational
cycle of malnutrition, poverty and gender discrimination. Integrated interventions for
young children emerge as the natural entry point for a comprehensive human
development strategy and as a powerful instrument for ensuring equality of opportunity
to present and future generations of the disadvantaged. Early childhood development
interventions are also a prerequisite for

ensuring enhanced cognitive and social skills in the young child, resulting in improved
retention and learning outcomes in primary education.

C. CENTRAL AND STATE OBLIGATIONS

Central and state Governments, national and international organisations and other
concerned parties share responsibility for improving the feeding of infants and young
children so as to bring down the prevalence of malnutrition in children, and for mobilising
required resources – human, financial and organizational.

India is proud to have adopted the National Nutrition Policy as early as in 1993.
Therefore, the task is not merely in terms of formulating a nutrition policy but also in
terms of locating it and grounding it in the overall development strategy of the country.

24
Panchayati Raj Institutions are to be empowered to serve as focal point for all
developmental schemes. Families and communities to be sensitised towards prevention
of malnutrition among infants between the age of 0-2 years, adolescent girls, pregnant
and lactating women, delaying the age of marriage, education of girl child, hygiene and
sanitation and utilising timely medical care. The education sector should include nutrition
in all its formal and non-formal activities and curriculum for medical, para medical and
general education at different levels.

D. EXISTING NUTRITION AND HEALTH INTERVENTIONS

AND GAPS

Malnutrition being a multi-faceted problem requires a multisectoral approach for its

prevention and control. A number of direct and indirect nutrition interventions are being
undertaken by different sectors of the Government.

The Government’s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme, reaches

34 million children aged 0–6 years and 7 million pregnant and nursing mothers.27 The
world’s largest early childcare and development programme, is designed to play a
significant role in the improvement of early childcare. The programme includes iron
supplementation for adolescent girls in 12 states and Vitamin A supplementation in 14
states, promoting universal use of iodised salt by educating the general population and
collaborating with the salt industry, improving the training of anganwadi (childcare)
workers; by developing innovative communication approaches with mothers; helping to
improve monitoring and reporting systems; providing essential supplies; developing
community-based early childcare interventions.

There has been considerable expansion in public health services and medical institutions
in the country. No doubt as a result children too have benefited. The situation, however,
is far from satisfactory.

The UNICEF Report also mentions about availability of services in urban areas to be
undoubtedly better than that in rural areas - for instance, while about 50% of urban
children received attention from health/medical institutions, the corresponding situation
in rural areas has been a dismal 16%.

Access to and utilization of health and medical services by children remain constrained
and vary across the country depending upon a multitude of factors such as cost, physical
distance, social and cultural differences, level and provisions of services as well as
demand for such services.

Further, health seeking behavior among women, as experienced, have a positive bearing
on children’s access to and availing health care services. But this happens only in case of
literate/ educated women from relatively better off communities and enjoying greater
personal and economic freedom. As such in Indian social structure, women’s access to
health care services is constrained by socioeconomic and cultural factors. Addressing

25
factors like caste, class, gender is equally important besides making services accessible,
available and under economic reach of poor.

The gigantic problem of health and malnutrition requires concerted efforts from different
partners. There are innumerable gaps in the existing interventions, some of which are as
under28:

 There is no national system of nutrition monitoring, mapping and surveillance.

 District level disaggregated data not available from National Nutrition Monitoring
Board (that undertakes periodic surveys on nutrition and National Family Health
Surveys.

 Nutritional concerns are not adequately reflected in the policies and programmes
of the Government.

 Intersectoral coordination mechanism inadequate.

 ICDS coverage is not universal. States are not able to allocate resources for
supplementary nutrition.

 Tribal areas, food scarce districts, chronically drought prone rural and tribal
hamlets have inadequate access to nutrition and health services.

 Nutrition Education and Awareness Generation is weak.

 Coverage of children under three years in vitamin ‘A’ prophylaxis programme is

low.

 Iron and Folic Acid supplementation for pre school children, adolescent girls,
pregnant women and lactating mothers is inadequate.

 Availability of iodized salt at household level had declined after the lifting of the
ban on sale of non-iodized salt in October 2000.

 Micronutrient malnutrition is not being addressed in a comprehensive manner.

 Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG) is only in 51 districts.

 Optimal infant and young child feeding practices (breast feeding and
complementary feeding) need aggressive promotion.

 There are significant gaps found through a national assessment, in both policy and
programmes on Infant and young child feeding.

26
The trend of low levels of utilisation of funds reflected in the graph above and
comparatively high budget estimates clearly point to poor planning of health
programmes. This is evident from the fact that of the total child health budget for 2005-
06, 59% was for immunisation almost all of it for strengthening polio immunisation while
46.4% of the children in India are yet to be immunised for vaccines of preventable
diseases. Besides, implementation of child health initiatives is also weak and
inadequate.29

27
 II. THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT

Critical Issues30

 72 million Indian children between five and 14 years do not have access to basic education.
 33 million have never been to school.
 Girls’ enrolment in schools at Primary level is 48%.
 Out of every 100 children, 19 continue to be out of school.
 Of every 100 children who enrol, 70 drop out by the time they reach the secondary level.
 Of every 100 children who drop out of school, 66 are girls.
 46 percent children from Scheduled Tribes and 38 percent from Scheduled Castes are out of
school.
 Of India’s 700,000 rural schools, only one in six have toilets deterring children especially girls
from going to school, and if enrolled, in remaining there.

P
rofessor John Kenneth Galbraith, while “looking at the larger world and its present
problems” in a lecture delivered in New Delhi in November 1992 had remarked “in
this world there is no literate population that is poor, no illiterate population that is
other than poor….”

In 1901, a little over 5% of Indian population was literate, which increased to around
16% in 1950, a mere increase of 11 percentage points during the first half of the century.
In the post-independence period, the decadal growth in literacy has shown a
substantial progress. In 2001, almost two-third of India’s population (65.38%), around
three-fourths of males (75.85%) and more than half of females (54.16%) w ere
literate.31

The Constitution of India under “Constitutional Provisions” and subsequently the National
Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 mentioned about provision of free and compulsory
education to all children up to the age of fourteen years. Following such enunciation,
local authorities (panchayats and municipalities) were assigned a suitable role in
education through individual state legislations.

The approach/strategy to ensure constitutional provisions continued evolving over the

time from starting centrally-assisted schemes (1987-88) like “Operation Blackboard”,
“Educational Technology”, “Vocationalisation of Secondary Education” etc. then the
District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) to universalize primary education in
selected districts along with Mid-Day Meal scheme.

Realizing that past efforts have not been adequate and being a party to Child Rights
declaration, the Government of India launched a special drive though a national scheme
called Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in the year 2001 to universalise elementary
education in 6 to 14 age group by 2010; by community-ownership of the school system
and ensuring quality basic education all over the country. Also education cess was levied
(2004) for raising additional finance needed to fulfill commitment to universalize quality

28
basic education.

The SSA Scheme has been only partially successful both in geographical reach and
programmatic output. SSA has been able to increase the enrollment but it has not been
able to sustain the same-dropouts at various levels.32

The statistics on educational attainments as compiled by the Azim Premji Foundation is as follows33:

Item Figure in Figure in 2003-04

1950-51 (Unless otherwise stated)
Literacy Rate 18.3% 64.8% (2001)
Female Literacy Rate 8.9% 53.7%
Schools 0.23 million 1.18 million
Gross Enrolment Ratio in Elementary 32.1% 84.8%
Education
Gender Parity Index at Elementary level 0.38 0.93
Public Expenditure on Education as % of 1.5% 3.76%
GDP

A. EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA

School education in India is organized in four stages, namely, e l e m e n t a r y

( primary and upper primary covering classes I to VIII), secondary (class IX and X)
and higher secondary (class XI and XII).

The pre-primary education as a part of the educational ladder is not compulsory. As

per Census 2001, the country has approximately 60 million children in the age
group of 3–6 years. The 86th amendment to the Constitution, making education for
children in the 6–14 age groups a fundamental right, does not cover children less than six
years of age. It is for this age group that early childhood care in the form of childcare
programmes, crèche programmes, and pre-school interventions are critical. Current
figures suggest that pre-school programme under Integrated Child Development
Scheme (ICDS) and other private initiatives covers about 34 million children;
approximately 26 million children are left out of pre-school activities. Thus, the gap
between the number of preschool children and available preschool services is large and
crucial for the education scenario in India. 34

Research shows that there are ‘critical periods’ at this stage for full development of
brains potential. The formation of later attitudes and values as well as the desire to learn
are also influenced at this stage, while lack of support or neglect can lead to negative
consequences, sometimes irreversible.

1. Elementary Education

Gross enrolment among both boys and girls is high at the primary level. But the share of
girls’ enrolment is lower than the share of boys’ enrolment, both at primary (47.52 per

29
cent) and upper primary (45.32 per cent) levels of education. The drop out rate is higher
as compared to the enrolment ratio at any level, be it primary or upper primary. The
average of 581 districts reveal that a large number of children drop out from the system
before reaching Grade V, which is true both for boys and girls and for rural and urban
areas.35 Poor infrastructure, in-accessibility of schools, teacher absenteeism, low
quality of teaching, corporal punishment, cultural barriers, etc. are some of the factors
responsible for pushing children out of school. In the wake of forced eviction and forced
migration, children’s right to education needs special attention. Lack of residential
facilities for girls belonging to backward areas and lack of transport facilities coupled with
large distances to be travelled for attending schools become a hindrance in education of
girls.

In 2009, Education programming was further strengthened by making free and

compulsory education - a Fundamental Right and subsequently into a Law. The recent
“Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education ACT 2009” makes following
provisions36:

 Every child 6-14 has the right to free and compulsory education.

 25 per cent of seats in every private school would be allocated for children from
disadvantaged groups including differently-able children at the entry level

 Sharing of financial burden between central government and state governments

 Defines duties and responsibilities by parents, private schools and local

communities to ensure such children get free and compulsory education

 State to ensure compliance through availability of school in neighbourhood, non-

discrimination among children, proper functioning of school, norms and standards
of school

 Guidelines on admission procedure, Teacher-student ratio, treatment of children,

no denial of admission in absence of age-proof, prohibition of holding back and
expulsion, prohibition of physical punishment and mental harassment,
infrastructure and facilities to children by school management, ensure good
quality elementary education, no capitation fees and screening procedure for
admission, parents/guardians to ensure their children joining elementary
education.

Translating the Government of India’s policy decision and effective execution of the Right
to Education Act, calls for an effective implementation strategy. Role of NGOs therefore
becomes critical.

2. Secondary Education

The population of children in the age group (14–18 years) is estimated at 119.7 million in
2006, and 121.1 million in 2011, whereas, the current enrolment in secondary and
senior secondary education together is around 37 million only (2004–05)37. The thrust
of secondary education during the Tenth Plan period was on improving access and

30
reducing dispar ities.

Percentage of Secondary/ Senior Secondary schools under

different managements

Government 33.12% Private aided 29.35%

Private unaided 29.60% Local Body 7.93%

Source: Selected Educational Statistic, 2004-05, MHRD, Government of India, New Delhi

Nearly 60% of secondary schools are with private management both aided and unaided,
almost in equal proportions. The share of government and local body schools and private
aided schools showing an increase from 15% in 1993 – 94 to 24% in 2001-02 and
further to 30% in 2004-05. 38

The doubling of the share of private unaided schools indicates that parents are willing to
pay for education that is perceived to be of good quality. The factors underlying this
perception include better English teaching, better monitoring and s upervision of
students’ performance, better attention, attendance and accountability of teachers. At
the secondary level, the major factors affecting quality are inadequate teachers and
physical facilities in existing schools, large variations in terms of facilities in different
kinds of schools; inadequate relevance of curriculum, out-dated instructional methods
and poor quality of teaching-learning, resulting in low attainment levels of students
etc.

3. Higher Education

India presently has 425 universities, comprising 216 state universities, 20 central
universities, 101 deemed universities, 5 institutions established under state legislations,
13 institutes of national importance by central legislation and 60 specialised institutions.
In all, out of the 21,092 institutions of higher learning including 18064 colleges, the
government has provided 15% reservation to scheduled castes, 7.5% to scheduled
tribes, 27% to OBC and 3% to students with disabilities. The share of private education
is projected to touch 60% by the end of the eleventh plan.

31
The total enrolment in the higher education increased from 4.92 million in 1990-91 to
11.03 million in 2004-05, total enrolment at higher education increased at an average
annual growth rate of 8.04%. Of the total enrolment, 12.94% were enrolled in University
departments and 9.60 million in affiliated colleges.

In India, more than 42 million persons are working in the informal sector. Only 5% of
this population could receive skill training through the formal vocational education
system. The incomplete education they receive may not be useful for a sustainable
livelihood with quality. They try to enter the world of work without required skills and
competencies to face the labour market competition. As a result, they remain
unemployed, marginalized and poor.

The corresponding figure for Korea is as high as 96% and there are several countries,
which have figures above 60%. Therefore, it is imperative to impart sound vocational
and skill education to those who require it to enable them to be part of the productive
force in the interest of the growth of the Indian economy.39

Ever since the recommendation of the Education (Kothari) Commission in 1966, and the
National Policy on Education (1968), the government has promised repeatedly to
increase the allocation to education so that it reaches at least six per cent of national
income. However, currently only four per cent of the GNP is being spent on education.

In terms of relative priorities, higher education suffered severely. The relative priority
accorded to higher education can be measured in terms of share of higher education in
the GNP. Presently 0.4 per cent of GNP is being spent on higher education. As a percent
proportion of total government expenditure, the share of higher education declined from
1.6 per cent in 1990-91 to 1.3 per cent in 1996-97, it increased to 1.6 percent in 2000-
01, but according to the later figures, declined steeply to 1.2 percent in 2003-04; i.e.
much below the 1990-91 level.40

4. Open Schooling System

Despite massive expansion of educational facilities in secondary schooling, a large

number of the adolescent and the youth in the concerned age groups are not able to
take advantage of formal schooling during stipulated school hours that often coincide
with the productive labour required in rural areas for agriculture and in urban areas for a
variety of income generating activities particularly for lower middle class and poor
families.

Out of 100 students enrolled in class I, hardly 20 complete their school education and
the remaining drop out at different stages. As a result open and distance learning (ODL)
has emerged as an effective and potential alternative of school education system. The
open schooling programmes upto pre-degree level are being offered by the National
institute of open schooling (NIOS) and 10 state open schools (SOSS)41.

32
According to The CABE Committee, The open schooling system will be required to cater
to the educational needs of about 30 lakh students at secondary stage during 2007-08
with 10% increase every year.

B. PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

Realising the importance of the civil society, the Chapter on Elementary Education (SSA
& Girls Education) for the XIth Plan Working Group Report, Ministry of Human Resource
Development Department of School Education & Literacy invites the NGO and private
sector to play a vital role in the following areas where government systems are the
weakest:

 Community mobilization, encouraging community participation, and interfacing

with village education committees or panchayats and ward committees for greater
awareness

 Experiments and innovations in education including use of technology

 Research and evaluation including data gathering and processing.

 Providing outsourced services that the government cannot deliver or deliver

efficiently. These can range from designing teaching-learning materials to
handling tasks related to the care and education of the extremely marginalized
and vulnerable children.

 In addition to the above areas, it could be possible to seek help of NGOs and
institutions in education planning and management – execution or capacity-
building, or systematizing- especially at the district level. This may be important
when planning for quality.

 Financial contribution to programs that could use funds beyond those permitted
by norms or other restrictions.

C. GENERAL AND SPECIFIC GAPS

The ‘Education For All’ (EFA) monitoring report, released by UNESCO on November 6,
2003, cautioned that India is “at risk of not achieving the Millennium Development Goal
of universalisation of education by 2015.”

 In order to meet this challenge of education, there is a need for a paradigm

shift in terms of universal access, equality and social justice, relevance and
development and curricular and structural aspects.

 Measures must be taken to bring quality of education in government schools at

par with that in private schools so that those studying in government schools
can compete with their counterparts studying in English medium private
schools.

33
  The issue of education of children in the age group of 3-6 years is crucial and
deserves more attention of the government authorities.

 Governance issues are important and move is towards decentralization.

 Upgradation of elementary schools to secondary schools should be given

priority in areas with high scheduled caste/ scheduled tribe and minority
population and low female literacy rate. This will encourage these communities
to send girls to Schools and retain them.

 Inclusive education where all children study together should become the
hallmark of every school especially those located in rural areas so as to take
care of the children of disadvantaged groups.

Findings of the First Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) - conducted in 2009 by
Pratham-a well known NGO working on child education relate not to attendance and
demographics, but to learning. The tests of reading ability were quite simple (a short
paragraph at the grade 2 level), but even then 35% of children aged 7-14 could not pass
this test, and 60% of the children could not read a simple story, also at grade 2 level.
Focus point in projects

As per Report “Education Overview” brought out by Azim Premji Foundation, feedback
from the field/ surveys reveal there is need for intervention to ensure:

a) basic skills of literacy and numeric are definitely learnt in early primary
classes of I and II.

b) focus on learning deficits in classes 3 to 5 - on account of inadequate

foundation for these basic skills.

c) appropriate teaching materials-making learning interesting and easy.

d) training of teachers on language teaching methods, child-friendly teachers

e) language teaching methods to focus oral skills, improving

vocabulary, use of language in various forms and comprehension.

f) emphasis on teaching of English

g) shift focus from memorization of

information contained in the textbooks to developing basic skills and the
ability of students to apply their learning to ‘non-textbook’ situations.

h) also creativity, problem solving ability and encouragement for construction of

knowledge based on students’ own experiences need to be promoted.

i) involvement of parents and the community to help increase transparency and

accountability of the system and also promote the ‘right to learn’ perspective.

j) Infrastructure and accountability of teachers in schools

34
 III. THE RIGHT TO PROTECTION

Critical Concerns

 While on the one hand girls are being killed off even before they are born, on the other hand,
children who are born suffer a number of violations;
 World’s highest number of child labourers is in India;
 To add to this, India has the world’s largest number of sexually abused
th children, with a child
below 16 years raped every 155th minute, a child below 10 every 13 hour, and one in every 10
children sexually abused at any point of time;
 Children are trafficked within and across borders for a number of reasons;
 The National Crime Records Bureau reported 9,473 cases of various crimes against children
in 2004;
 Most subtle forms of violence against children such as child marriage, economic exploitation,
practices like the ‘Devadasi’ tradition of dedicating young girls to gods and goddesses,
genital mutilation in some parts of the country, are justified on grounds of culture and
tradition;
 Physical and psychological punishment is rampant in the name of disciplining children
and is culturally accepted;
 Forced evictions, displacement due to development projects, war and conflict, communal riots,
natural disasters, all of these take their own toll on children;
 Juvenile delinquency records, reflecting inadequacies in the society, show 19,229 cases of crimes
committed by children in 2004;
 Most child protection concerns remain under-documented and the absence of systematic and
reliable data impacts planning and intervention;
 There is no figure available for many categories of children in need of care and
protection;
 These include child beggars, children of prostitutes, child victims of domestic violence, children
affected by HIV/AIDS, children affected by conflict and natural disasters, children affected by
development-related displacement and forced evictions.42

C
hild Protection involves keeping children safe from the risk of harm caused by
neglect, physical or sexual abuse. It aims at reducing children’s vulnerability in
assuring them necessary care, protection and support to survive, develop and
thrive. Child Protection is integrally linked to every other right of the child. Healthy,
educated and informed children can participate in their own protection and are less
vulnerable to exploitation.

The neglect of child protection issue undermines national development. Children

subjected to neglect, violence, exploitation, abuse are at risk of shortened lives, poor
physical and mental health, homelessness, vagrancy and displacement, educational
problems (including dropping out of school), falling prey to social evils, poor parenting
skills later in life thereby adversely affecting development of the society and the nation
at large.

While all children need protection, some children are more vulnerable than others as
they are largely discriminated in the Indian society. (refer ‘discrimination against
children’ under root causes for Child Right Violation)

Although poverty is often cited as the cause underlying exploitation, other factors such
as discrimination, social exclusion, as well as the lack of quality education or existing

35
parents’ attitudes and perceptions and the role and value of education need also to be
considered.

A. FORMS OF CHILD ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION PREVALENT

IN INDIA

1. Child Trafficking

Child trafficking is not merely confined to trafficking for commercial sexual

exploitation, but can be for organ transplants, begging, entertainment (camel
jockeying and circus), child labour and domestic work, drug peddling, and
participation in armed conflicts, to name a few.

India has been identified as a source, transit and destination point in the international
circuit. India’s porous border with Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh are the major reasons
citied for the prevalent high levels of children being trafficked every year. However
trafficking for labour is the most reported crime against children and takes various
forms. Many of these children are trafficked or bonded in connivance with their parents.

Girls are more vulnerable especially to trafficking for sexual purposes. Due to a
demographic imbalance, in states like Haryana and Punjab, girls are trafficked from other
states for marriage. 43

2. Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

Sexual abuse is any kind of unwanted or forced sexual behaviour. It includes rape,
sodomy, harassment and eve teasing. Sexual violence against children is most
commonly perpetrated by someone known to the child, but assaults by strangers in the
community happen as well. Major findings on sexual abuse in India (from the Study.
Child Abuse. India. 2007, conducted by Ministry of Women and Child Development):

 53.22% children reported having faced one or more forms of sexual abuse.
 1.90% child respondents faced severe forms of sexual abuse
 50% abuses are persons known to the child or in a position of trust and
responsibility.
 Most Children did not report the matter to anyone.

Commercial sexual exploitation

According to an ILO estimate, 15% of the country's estimated 2.3 million prostitutes are
children. With an estimate 350,000 children engaged in prostitution, the problem of child
prostitution in India is widespread and quite visible. 44

Child sex tourism is prevalent in Goa, North Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, West
Bengal and in Rajasthan. Mumbai is believed to be the ‘biggest centre for paedophilic
commerce in India’. Children are often promised better jobs and then ‘forced’ into sex
36
and in many cases moneylenders force parents to sell their children to repay debts. Child
pornography is closely linked to child sex tourism.

3. Children in Armed Conflicts

In India, both state and non-state actors field children in armed conflicts, which are
taking place in at least 118 of India’s 604 districts, notably between armed Naxalite
groups and other regional conflicts. Child soldiers are also used in the states of Jammu
and Kashmir, Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura, Sikkim, Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh, by both the state and anti-state groups. Children are often recruited from tribal
communities, as these are frequently located in conflict zones. In anti-state militias, girls
are reportedly being used for sexual gratification.45

4. Drug Addiction

20 million children are estimated to be getting addicted to smoking every year, and
nearly 55,000 children are becoming smokers every day in comparison to 3,000 in the
US. Recent available data points out that among the alcohol, cannabis and opium users
about 21%, 3% and 0.1% respectively were below 18 years.46

5. Child Labour

India has the largest number of children under the age of 15 in work in the world: 13
million. Some estimates put the figure at 100 million children. An estimated 8.4 million
children in India are trapped in the worst forms of child labour. In many cases, such
children have been forced to work for long durations, without food, and/or have worked
for very low wages.47

a) Hazardous forms of child labour

The overwhelming majority of working children in India are rural children in the
unorganized, agricultural and allied sectors (the traditional sectors of the Indian
economy that often provides employment for all members of a family: cultivation,
livestock, forestry and fisheries, etc.). But they also work in hazardous conditions in the
footwear industry, the carpet industry, the garment industry, the silk thread industry.
They are also employed in the diamond and gemstone industry, cutting and polishing
diamond chips.

b) Child domestic workers

There is a growing phenomenon of rampant and systematic exploitation of children in

domestic work in urban areas. The Government of Delhi in 2006 estimated that in Delhi
alone there were 700,000 girls working in homes. Homes in urban areas employ
domestic workers, the majority of whom come from West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand or
Orissa. ‘Agents’ provide the links between employers and employees. The employment of
children in domestic work is an age-old practice and it continues, sanctioned by the
upper and middle class families. 48

37
 c) Bonded child labour

There are as many as 15 million bonded child labourers in India, most of whom are
Dalits or from lower castes. More than half, and possibly as many as 87 percent of these
bonded child labourers work in agriculture, tending crops, herding cattle, and performing
other tasks for their "masters”.49 A large number of children are employed by roadside
restaurants and sweet-meat shops, automobile mechanic units and other micro business
units in the urban areas. Some of these are making use of hazardous forms of child
labour in cotton seed production in India on a large scale.

6. Migrant, Street And Missing Children In The Wake Of Urbanization

An average of 29% of India’s population lives in urban area. Nearly 50% of the urban
population lives in precarious conditions.50 The urban population is also rapidly
growing due to large-scale internal migration from rural areas to cities for a possible
better life. A large proportion of this migrating population ends up residing in slums in
inhuman conditions. All this has lead to a huge number of homeless children,
pavement dwellers, street and working children and child beggars, who are left alone.
In the absence of adequate housing and infrastructures in the cities, these children
are often exposed to hunger and malnutrition, lack of health care and education,
abuse, exploitation, variety of deprivation and harassment from the police.

UNICEF estimated 11 million street children in India in 1994, which is considered to

be conservative, of which 420,000 lived in the six metropolitan cities of the country.
The Indian Embassy has estimated that there are 314,700 street children in metros
such as Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Kanpur, Bangalore and Hyderabad and around
100,000 in Delhi alone.51

According to an article in an English daily quoted on the website of the National

Centre for Missing Children, the number of runaway children is 10,00,000 per annum;
every 30 seconds a child runs away from home. The National Human Rights
Commission's study on missing Children shows that 80% of the police staff did not
feel tracing a missing child was a priority; 54% thought it was not even worth the
effort. 52

Many of these children come alone to cities in search of a livelihood, in an attempt to

escape poverty and caste discrimination. A significant number of children find
themselves on streets in an attempt to escape from violent and abusive home
conditions or are kidnapped or lured with promises by traffickers.

7. Children Without Parental Care

The increasing number of children without parental care and entering the institutional
system is alarming. These children are not necessarily orphans but destitute and they
do have a family somewhere, however, once these children enter the institutional
38
system there are very limited opportunities for them to get out and go back to their
families. An estimated 44 million Indian children are destitute, among them 12.44
million are orphans, many of them living in institutional care. The institutions for
children in conflict with the law host about 40,000 children.53

Private donors, faith-based organisations, NGOs, and government channel significant

resources into more orphanages or residential care institutions for children, rather
than supporting programs to assist single parents, relatives, and foster carers. This
promotes a situation where those same parents and families, together with
communities and government officials, turn to those institutional facilities as a first
response.

8. Children In Conflict With Law

India has witnessed an increase both in crimes committed by children and those
committed against them. There has been a 7.9 per cent increase in crimes committed
by children between 2003 and 2004, with more children being apprehended for
arson, theft and cheating.

The number of children in conflict with law has increased from 17,203 in 1994 to
30,943 in 2004. The crimes committed by juveniles have also seen an increase in the
same period from 8,561 to 19,229. While part of this increase in juvenile crimes may
be attributed to the inclusion of boys aged 16-18 years in the definition of child in the
revised juvenile justice law of 2000, the fact remains that the rate of juvenile crimes
is fairly high and more and more children in the 16-18 years category are coming in
conflict with law. About four million children are in Government run homes
established under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act, 2000.54

The Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 (Care and Protection of Children) contributes to
the building of a uniform juvenile justice system throughout the country and
reaffirms the child’s right to survival, protection, family development and
participation. It also considers institutional and non-institutional services for
children.

This act aims to offer a child increased access to justice by establishing 2 specific
authorities to deal with children. They are:

Child Welfare committee for children in need of care and protection (Section 29)
2. Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) for children in conflict with law

39
9. Sex Selection And Female Foeticide

The phenomenon of missing daughters over the past two decades is the biggest
challenge to India’s growth and development today. Failure to protect the girl child is
no longer just a health issue but an important child protection issue, deserving
immediate and utmost attention. The 2001 Census data and other studies illustrate
the terrible impact of sex selection in India over the last decade-and-a-half. The child
sex ratio (0-6 years) declined from 945 girls to 1,000 boys in 1991 to 927 in the
2001 census. Around 80% of the then 577 districts in the country registered a decline
in child sex ratio between 1991 – 200155. Economically progressive states like Delhi,
Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra have recorded the
sharpest decline in child sex ratios as sex selection technology in these states is
widely available.

10. Child Marriage

The 2001 Census reports that there are nearly 300,000 girls under 15 who have
given birth to at least one child. According to the Rapid Household Survey conducted
across the country, 58.9 percent of women in Bihar were married before the age of
18, with 55.5 percent in Rajasthan, 54.9 percent in West Bengal, 53.8 percent in UP
and 53.2 percent in Madhya Pradesh and 39.3 percent in Karnataka. Despite high
female literacy in Kerala, close to one-tenth of women are married before attaining
the legal age of 18 years. The survey also found that 65% of the girls are married by
the time they are 18 years old.56

Child marriage is a violation of human rights whether it happens to a girl or a boy,

but it represents perhaps the most prevalent form of sexual abuse and exploitation of
girls. The harmful consequences include separation from family and friends, lack of
freedom to interact with peers and participate in community activities, and decreased
opportunities for education. Child marriage can also result in bonded labour or
enslavement, commercial sexual exploitation and violence against the victims.
Because they cannot abstain from sex or insist on condom use, child brides are often
exposed to such serious health risks as premature pregnancy, sexually transmitted
infections and, increasingly, HIV/ AIDS. Parents may consent to child marriages out
of economic necessity, providing male guardianship for their daughters, protect them
from sexual assault, avoid pregnancy outside marriage, extend their childbearing
years or ensure obedience to the husband’s household.

The Child Marriage Act 2006 prohibits and nullifies marriage below 18 for girls and 21
for boys. But some 80% of Indians live in villages where family, caste and community
pressures are more effectual than any legislature and hence such cases go
unreported. 57

40
 B. OPERATIONAL MECHANISMS

India has committed clearly at international and national level for Child Protection
and has developed many acts and operational mechanisms to prevent and control
child exploitation. However, children continue to remain vulnerable with the
number of those needing care and protection ever increasing. The draft Approach
paper for the Eleventh Plan has identified some general and specific gaps that
need to be addressed to protect more effectively children in India.58

a) Inadequate budgetary allocation for child protection.

b) Inadequate implementation of laws and legislations.
c) Lack of lateral linkages with essential services for children for example
education, health, police, judiciary, services for the disabled, etc.
d) Overbearing focus on institutional services with non-institutional services
being negligent.
e) Lack of coordination and convergence of programmes/services
f) Lack of professionally trained manpower for providing child protection
services, especially counselling services.
g) Lack of institutional infrastructure to deal with child protection;
h) Weak supervision, monitoring and evaluation of the juvenile justice system
i) Inadequate attention to preventive measures
j) Large gaps in data, both in quantitative and qualitative on the range and
nature of protection issues.

A protective environment for children is necessary to make child protection effective.

Adopting a preventive and protective approach of Child Protection shall include:

 Creating an aware culture where child protection is a common concern and

discussed openly.
 National and international advocacy and initiating dialogue at all levels, from
government down to communities, families and children themselves.
 Adopting child prevention and protection policies and practices that minimise the
risk of child abuse.
 Promptly responding to any complaint, allegation or indication of child abuse.
 Identifying strategies to reduce child vulnerability.
 Addressing and mitigating the impact of economic and social poverty.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has recently combined all its existing
child protection schemes scattered under different ministries under one centrally
sponsored scheme titled “Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS)”. The Scheme is
based on the cardinal principles of “protection of child rights” and “best interests of
the child”. It aims to create a protective environment for children by improving
regulatory frameworks, strengthening structures and professional capacities at
national, state and district levels so as to cover all child protection issues and provide
child friendly services under one scheme.

41
 IV. THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATION

Critical Issues

Children in most sections of Indian society are traditionally and conventionally not consulted about
matters and decisions affecting their lives;
If they do speak out, they are not normally heard. The imposition of restrictive norms is especially true for
girl children;
This limits all children’s access to information and to choice, and often to the possibility of seeking help
outside their immediate circle;
In the state’s dealings with children, this is a relatively newer programming area and therefore very little
has been done to ensure children’s right to be heard in either administrative or judicial processes;
The challenge is now to ensure that every planning process takes children’s views into consideration.59

A. UNDERSTANDING THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATION

1. Expression of Views

S
everal provisions in the Convention on the Rights of the Child reflect children's
right to participation. Participation is one of the guiding principles of the
Convention, as well as one of its basic challenges. Article 12 of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child states that children have the right to participate in decision-
making processes that may be relevant in their lives and to influence decisions taken in
their regard — within the family, the school or the community. It recognizes the potential
of children to enrich decision-making processes, to share perspectives and to participate
as citizens and actors of change. The practical meaning of children's right to participation
must be considered in each and every matter concerning children.

As a fundamental right of the child, the right to participation stands on its own; it
requires a clear commitment and effective actions to become a living reality and
therefore is much more than a simple strategy.

Participation is an underlying value that needs to guide the way each individual right is
ensured and respected; a criterion to assess progress in the implementation process of
children's rights; and an additional dimension to the universally recognized freedom of
expression, implying the right of the child to be heard and to have his or her views or
opinions taken into account.

Respecting children's views means that such views should not be ignored; it does not
mean that children's opinions should be automatically endorsed. Expressing an opinion is
not the same as taking a decision, but it implies the ability to influence decisions. A
process of dialogue and exchange needs to be encouraged in which children assume
increasing responsibilities and become active, tolerant and democratic. In such a
process, adults must provide direction and guidance to children while considering their
views in a manner consistent with the child's age and maturity. Through this process, the
child will gain an understanding of why particular options are followed, or why decisions
are taken that might differ from the one he or she favoured.

42
 1. Child’s Evolving Capacity

The Convention sets no minimum age at which children can begin expressing their views
freely, nor does it limit the contexts in which children can express their views. The
Convention acknowledges that children can form views from a very early age and refers
to children's 'evolving capacity' for decision-making.

Among children, it is important that the older and more advantaged children foster
participation of the younger and most disadvantaged, including girls, the poorest,
children belonging to minority and indigenous groups, migrant children and others.

2. The role of parents and others

The child's evolving capacity represents just one side of the equation: the other involves
adults' evolving capacity and willingness to listen to and learn from their children, to
understand and consider the child's point of view, to be willing to re-examine their own
opinions and attitudes and to envisage solutions that address children's views. For
adults, as well as for children, participation is a challenging learning process and cannot
be reduced to a simple formality. Fulfilling the right of children to participate entails
training and mobilizing adults who live and work with children, so that they are prepared
to give children the chance to freely and increasingly participate in society and gain
democratic skills. Parents and other family members are most obviously included in this
group, as well as teachers, social workers, lawyers, psychologists, the police and other
members of the society at large.

3. Ensuring appropriate information

The right to participation is also related to fulfilling the right to information, a key
prerequisite for children's participation to be relevant and meaningful. It is in fact
essential that children be provided with the necessary information about options that
exist and the consequences of such options so that they can make informed and free
decisions. Providing information enables children to gain skills, confidence and maturity
in expressing views and influencing decisions. Article 15 states that children have the
right to create and join associations and to assemble peacefully.

Both imply opportunities to express political opinions, engage in political processes and
participate in decision-making. Both are critical to the development of a democratic
society and to the participation of children in the realization of their rights.

4. Participation is the path to other rights

The right to participation is relevant to the exercise of all other rights, within the family,
the school and the larger community context. Thus, for example:

43
 a) Adoption: As one of "the persons concerned," the child should be heard in any judicial or
administrative adoption proceedings. Article 21(a) refers to the informed consent of persons
concerned, including the child.

b) Separation from parents: In decisions to be taken on the need to separate a child from his or her
parents (for example, on the basis of abuse or neglect), the child—as an "interested party" must be
given an opportunity to participate and make his or her views known.

c) Name change: In a decision to be taken on the changing of a child's name, the views of the child
should be taken into consideration.

d) Right to health: Children are entitled to be informed, have access to information and be supported
in the use of basic knowledge of child health and nutrition so that they may enjoy their fundamental
right to health.

e) Education: Children's participation takes on a special dimension in the area of education.

Education should give children the opportunity to develop their talents and abilities to full potential, to
gain confidence and self-esteem, to use their initiative and creativity, to gain life skills and take
informed decisions and to understand and experience pluralism, tolerance and democratic coexistence.
In brief, the right to education means the right to experience citizenship.

5. Genuine participation versus tokenism

Children do not participate:

 By merely attending a function. That is decoration and not participation.

 If they have no opportunity to understand the consequences and the impact of
their opinions.
 If they are being merely consulted when adults make all the decisions.
 If their views are manipulated and are not genuinely their own, nor rooted in their
own experience.
 If they are not properly briefed nor have the opportunity to discuss the issues with
the very peers they are meant to be representing.

To be meaningful, participation must involve at least some degree of power-sharing and

some involvement in at least some of the processes. Participation is not autonomy -
children cannot always have what they want. Limits have to be set to children's power as
adults have the responsibility to ensure that they are safe, healthy and educated. There
may also be financial and practical limits which adults will need to apply. Adults cannot
stand by and let children make irreversible mistakes that would cause serious harm or
loss to themselves or others.

In all such activities, strong monitoring and evaluation components must be present and
initiatives tested against the principles of the Convention. Is the activity in the best
interests of the child? Is any form of discrimination present? Do the most disadvantaged
and marginalized children have opportunities to participate and are their voices heard?

44
Are children genuinely participating? Can children make a difference in decision-making
processes?

Children and young people often represent over 40 percent of the societies in which they
live, yet they have traditionally been excluded from decision-making all over the world.

6. Why should children participate?

a) Children themselves benefit

 They become more clear about and understand their own wants and needs, in the
light of the values of the community and the rights of the child.
 They explore the possibilities of their lives by being offered choices and having to
prioritise them. Also by realising the constraints or limitations to their
development or happiness, children are able to come to terms with the inequities
of life. And by being offered a way forward to overcome them and attain a happier
life for themselves and others too.
 They also learn to consider the needs of others and to gain social skills as they
negotiate, debate and problem-solve together.
 Their developmental needs are met, particularly the need for responsibility,
respect and recognition, which increases their confidence and self-esteem.
 Because they are part of the process by which decisions are reached, they feel
more committed to make those decisions work.

b) Adults and society benefit

 Children can help shape policy and practice. Insights gained from children and
young people help adults to be more effective in meeting their changing needs.
These needs are best defined by children from their everyday interests and
problems, because what they actually experience may be different from what we
had intended or expected.
 Children can change our perception of ourselves as adults and help us to avoid
assumptions about what we think "childhood" is. We will be more effective if we
do not generalise, for example we should not say that "all children are helpless
against violence" or "cannot reason until they turn seven".
 Children who participate are more likely to go on to become capable and involved
citizens as they grow up. They learn democratic procedures and responsibilities by
participating.

Unfortunately, though children’s right to participation is a much discussed and heavily

debated issue, very few have actually been able to translate this into action and make it
a ground reality.

45
 B. UNIVERSAL CHILD PARTICIPATION IN INDIA: MILES TO GO

Children in India have no voice! They have all the rights but rights are ignored and also
violated in different ways. Children remain passive recipients of all decisions – societal or
parental; and all actions – neglect, indifference or welfare measures. So much so, that
they do not have any right in decision-making even about their marriage. There are still
thousands of child marriages reported through out the country - girls being the most
affected recipients of such non-participation. As per recent data (2004) as many as 43%
of girls in age 15-19 were sent into matrimony.

Included in the right to participation is also right of accused children to be treated with
compassion and dignity in the juvenile justice system. There is Juvenile Justice Court
(JJC) at district level but it is mainly concerned with crimes committed by children,
punishment and their rehabilitation (sending to remand home etc). Elimination of child
labour, per say, JJC does not have either mandate or focused contributions towards it.

It is essential to give young girls adequate information, guidance on reproductive and

sexual health and to provide them with necessary services to protect their health and
development. Gender equality may help to promote the active participation of girls as
agents of change in their own lives, families, communities and societies and to overcome
gradually poverty. It is also essential to educate boys at school to respect, consider and
even protect girls and women.

It is only with the ratifying of the Child Rights Convention that children's rights to
participation began gaining formal recognition, although several NGOs had initiated
processes to enlist participation of children and young adults long before the CRC. The
National Plan of Action 2005 has identified this right as a priority and provides a
framework for action. There is, however, no universal or accepted definition of child
participation. Various groups and individuals have defined it according to their own
understanding. There is still a fairly long journey before this 'inclusion' of children's
participation is internalised and accepted widely.

C. FIRST EVER CHILDREN’S FORUM AT THE UNITED NATIONS

UNICEF and partner organizations held a Children's Forum in New York, 5-7 May 2002,
so that children and young people could gather before the Special Session on Children to
discuss important issues and come up with ways for governments, civil society
organizations and children to work together to make the world a better place for
everyone.

Of the 404 children between the ages of 7 and 18 who attended the Children's Forum
242 were girls and 162 were boys. A total of 264 children had been selected by their own
governments to be members of official delegations from 142 countries to the Special
Session. The other 140 children came as members of the 106 different non-
governmental delegations. In all, the children represented 154 countries, forming a truly
global constituency. 60

46
Chapter 4

ROOT CAUSES FOR VIOLATION OF CHILD RIGHTS

I
t is recognized that a high number of children in the society are at risk of being
deprived of their fundamental rights. Challenged with the problems related to
vulnerable children and children at risk, it is not surprising that the Government of
India and its partners face serious challenges in the implementation of comprehensive
and area specific programmes.

The concept of exclusion is multidimensional and includes reinforcing socio-political

factors that are the basis of discrimination and disadvantage.

A. THE ROOT CAUSES

1. Discrimination against Vulnerable Children

In a globalised economy, the increased vulnerability of some children due to their

identity, and/or socio-economic and geo-political circumstances calls for more focused
attention and coordination of social and economic policies and monitoring of child impact.
Besides being victims of globalisation, these children may be barred from benefits meant
for all children simply because they belong to a group or community with difficulties of
access. These barriers must be overcome.

While all children need protection, some children are more vulnerable than others as
they are largely discriminated in the Indian society. Amongst these, status of girl child,
children with disabilities and victimized children (as they are in majority and face severe
discrimination) is explained in this section. Status of other vulnerable children can be
understood from the section of ‘Right to Protection’.

 Working children
 Trafficked children
 Child beggars
 Children of prostitutes
 Child prostitutes
 Children in jails/prisons
 Children of prisoners
 Orphaned or abandoned children
 Homeless children (pavement dwellers, displaced/evicted, refugees etc)
 Street and runaway children
 Children affected by HIV/AIDS Children suffering from terminal diseases
 Disabled children
 Children belonging to the Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes

47
  Migrant children
 Children affected by natural disasters
 Children affected by conflict

a) Girl Child

In many parts of India, the girl child is not valued and is even in danger of being
unwelcome before birth. In societies and communities where women are not respected,
the girl child is not valued. Much of what should be considered maltreatment is socially
regarded as the normal/ accepted way to treat a girl child in the home or a community.
Today, the nationwide average number of girls to every 1000 boys is 927, according to
the 2001 census.

Unlike many other social evils attributed to poverty, the killing of female foetuses
through sex-selective abortion cannot be attributed to poverty and ignorance. Indeed, it
is the economically affluent states of Punjab, Haryana, districts of Gujarat, and Delhi that
have the distinction of having more people who can pay for expensive tests to help
choose male children over females. The capital city Delhi has 919 and 859 for slum and
non-slum areas respectively. Clearly it is those who can "afford to choose," who use the
technology to do so. 61

Non-registration of medical facilities, the use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques,

communication of the sex of the foetus, determination of sex, advertisement of sex
determination, and non-maintenance of records also explain the large number of
abortions.

Gender biases pose a specific threat to girl children across the social and economic
strata. In a country like India, a caring and protective environment for girl child does not
develop easily. Failure to ensure protection of the girl children entails their promotion,
prevention and rehabilitation. However, many initiatives have been developed and
legislation exits in theory to protect the gender. The popular ones include piloting of
conditional cash transfer schemes to support the survival and development of the girl
child.

Educating girls and providing them with skill development and training is a powerful
lever for their empowerment, as well as for reducing poverty. Education can translate
into economic opportunities for women and their families. Education helps girls to know
their rights and claim them, for themselves and their families.

For a girl child, life is a constant fight for survival, growth and development from the time she is conceived
till she attains 18 years. The table given below depicts the life chart of a girl child and highlights the many
life threatening problems she faces:

48
Before birth  Foeticide and Infanticide
to 1 year  Infant mortality
 Discrimination in breast feeding and infant food
 Neglect of health ( immunization )
1 to 5 years  Discrimination in access to food
 Poorer health attention and poorer access to health care; high
risk of nutritional anaemia (74% in 0-3 age group, both sexes)
 Discrimination in overall treatment, parental care; expression of
value and worth
 Vitamin and micro-nutrient deficiencies
 Early definition and imposition of ‘suitable’ roles; limits on
permitted learning and play
 activities
 Child marriages in some areas of country
 Household/near-home sexual abuse
 If enrolled in school, less time for learning
 Assignment of domestic duties, minor small domestic chores
6 to 11  Malnutrition and anaemia
years  Health problems like Polio and diarrhoea
 Iodine and Vitamin A deficiency
 Low school enrolment, School drop outs
 Vulnerable to trafficking, child labour, child marriage
 Abuse, exploitation and violence
 Increasing domestic duties/workload
 Looking after siblings
 Restrictions on mobility, play
12 to 18  Poor health, poor health attention
years  High risk /high levels of anaemia
 Frequent illness due to malnutrition and micro-nutrient
deficiency
 High risk/incidence of early child bearing-related
morbidity/mortality
 Child marriage
 Becoming a ‘child-mother,’ health risks & burden of childcare
 Denied information, mobility, access to services
 Low literacy/learning level
 Poor access to information
 Early and frequent pregnancy coupled with abortions
 Marital and domestic violence
 Dowry harassment, desertion , polygamy, divorce
 Child labour, trafficking.
 STDs and HIV/AIDS
 Unpaid and unrecognized work, and drudgery
 No voice either in Home or society

49
 b) Children with Disabilities

The Indian Census 2001 reports that 21.9 million persons in the Indian total population
(2.13%) are disabled, and that 1.67% of the total population within the age-group 0-19
years (7 million) are living with disability. This data includes persons with visual, hearing,
speech, physical and mental impairments. Of all persons with disability, 35.9% are in the
0-19 age-group. However some other estimates state that India has some 40 to 80
million persons living with disability, representing more than 8% of population.62 98% of
children with disabilities do not go to school. 63

Indian society continues to treat disability with indifference, pity or revulsion. Low
literacy, school enrolment and employment rates as well as widespread social stigma are
making disabled people among the most excluded in Indian society and deter them from
taking an active part in the family or community. Among them, disabled from birth,
disabled children and disabled women are less likely to seek health care.

The main barriers they face to access school include: lack of specialised teachers for both
physically and mentally challenged children, absence of teacher training programmes,
absence of disabled-friendly infrastructure, including ramps, special chairs and toilet
facilities as well as the fear of mockery from schoolmates and adults in the school.

Girls with disabilities suffer still further discrimination, experiencing exclusion on account
of their gender and their disability. They are more likely to be abandoned, discriminated
against, and excluded from education, marriage and motherhood. They are also
particularly vulnerable to all kinds of abuse. People with disabilities are generally
considered ineligible to marry to people without disabilities unless "adjusted" by high
dowry. Disabled girls are usually married to older men, leading to a higher incidence of
widowhood.

Despite years of public intervention, a growing disability rights movement and one of the
most progressive policy frameworks for persons with disabilities, only a few disabled
people have access to aids and appliances. India falls short in implementation and in
accountability of public funds devoted to disability, lacks resources and strong monitoring
mechanisms. Poor enforcement of the existing legislation means that disabled people in
India continue to be discriminated against in terms of access to basic services and
opportunities.

A large number of disabilities in India are preventable, including those arising from
malnutrition, accidents and injuries as well as medical issues during pregnancy or birth.
However, the health sector most of the time is too weak to react on time or proactively
to disability, especially in the rural areas. There are few special services for disabled
children. Paediatric units at government hospitals are incapable of dealing with children
with disabilities as they lack infrastructure and resources. Very little research has been
done in the areas of mental or physical disability.

On 13 December 2006, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a new Convention
on the rights of persons with disabilities. It adopted also the same day an Optional
50
Protocol on the rights of persons with disabilities. India signed the Convention on 30th
March 2007 and ratified it on 1st October 2007.

The Convention introduces a specific article on awareness-raising to promote respect for

the dignity of people with disabilities and new obligations on government and non
government actors to take all the necessary measures to ensure that the rights of
disabled are fulfilled.

c) Lack of Reintegration/Rehabilitation Alternatives for Victimised Children

Victims who are able to return to their communities often find themselves stigmatized or
ostracized, and therefore are re-victimized. The inadequate numbers of rescue homes
along with the high level of dissatisfaction amongst rescued children regarding the
quality of services being provided in these homes, seemingly present a dismal picture.
There is an evident lack of concern, commitment and sensitivity of all stakeholders
including the police, the judiciary, doctors, teachers and panchayat members towards
rescued children. No counselling of victims is available and hence there is no scope to
make them self confident and empowering them with knowledge about their rights.
Revictimisation by proclaiming victims as offenders, further traumatizes the child. Some
children in conflict with law are actually victims of crimes, particularly when they are
used, trafficked and forced into begging, drug peddling, prostitution etc.

d) Children affected with HIV/AIDS

According to UNAIDS, in India, 0.16 million children in 0-14 age group are infected with
HIV. An estimated 2.5 million people are currently living with HIV in India.

Around 90% of all children living with HIV acquired the infection from their mothers
during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. Other sources of infection among children
include sexual contact, sexual abuse; blood transfusion. However the disease is
increasingly becoming prevalent in adolescents. Drug consumption and use of
unsterilised syringes is also a factor responsible for the increase of HIV infection. 64

The HIV /AIDS pandemic is not only threatening the physical health and survival of
children, it is destroying their families and depriving them of parental love, care and
protection. Stigma and discrimination, often associated with HIV infection leads to
exclusion and isolation and ruin a child’s chances to receive an education. Children
whose families are affected by HIV/ AIDS experience severe emotional and
psychological distress, economic hardship resulting from their parents’ inability to work
may cause children to drop out of school or become child labourers. Children
orphaned by HIV/ AIDS are more exposed to exploitation, abuse and violence.
Conversely, many situations in which children have inadequate protection – including
sexual exploitation, trafficking, violence, displacement, detention and imprisonment and
child marriage also make them more vulnerable to HIV infection.

Discrimination against children are in direct violation of the UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child (UNCRC), the international Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
51
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and other national and international laws
ratified by the government.

2. Poverty

Poverty is perhaps the most serious overarching threat to children’s rights. Article 27 of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes the right of children to a standard of
living adequate for their overall development and the responsibilities of parents and the
state in securing this right.

Poverty in India is widespread with the nation estimated to have a third of the world's
poor. According to a 2005 World Bank estimate, 42% of India falls below the
international poverty line of $1.25 a day. 75% of the poor are in rural areas, most of
them are daily wagers, self-employed householders and landless labourers.65

Although the Indian economy has grown steadily over the last two decades, its growth
has been uneven when comparing different social groups, economic groups, geographic
regions, and rural and urban areas.

Poverty exercises an adverse influence on the health and nutrition status of children.
Inadequate and irregular earnings affect the quantity and quality of food that a family
can consume throughout the year, its standard of living, and access and use of
healthcare. A family living below the poverty line is bound to impact on the survival and
development of the child.

According to a recently released World Bank report, India is on track to meet its poverty
reduction goals however, by 2015 an estimated 53 million people will still live in extreme
poverty and 23.6% of the population will still live under $1.25 per day. This number is
expected to reduce to 20.3% or 268 million people by 202066.However, at the same
time, the effects of the worldwide recession in 2009 have plunged 100 million more
Indians into poverty than there were in 2004 thereby increasing the effective poverty
rate from 27.5% to 37.2%.67

3. Vulnerability of Child Population

From 548 million persons in 1971, the population of India crossed the billion mark
officially on 11 May 2000. The 2001 census gives the total population for the country as
1,028.7 million persons. This population is expected to reach 1,264 million in 2016 which
means that approximately 236 million persons are likely to tbe added to India’s
population in the current and ensuing decades.68

Such a massive increase in numbers will, to a large extent, offset the gains of economic
development and require massive inputs for social services, civic amenities and
infrastructure development. Currently, several states are lagging behind on social as well
as economic development indicators. Given their current political and administrative

52
situation, the position is unlikely to change much in the near future in most of these
states. The children of these states will, therefore, continue to be more vulnerable than
those in most other parts of the country, especially those living in rural areas and urban
slums. This situation needs to be looked into and tackled in a very concerted manner.

4. No Uniform Definition Of The ‘Child’

The Constitution of India and the laws enacted over the years have some unique and far-
reaching provisions to protect children. Yet, there are laws in which the age of the child
is not in consonance with the CRC, which the Government ratified way back in 1992).
Besides, the age of the child has been defined differently in different laws (see chart
below. These different age-specifics under different laws not only create a dilemma, but
also set the stage for injustice.

This is because, whether the same human being is or is not a child depends upon the law
that is being invoked in a given case. Moreover, when the laws are in conflict with one
another due to diverse definitions, it is but natural a difficult task to decide the ‘best
interests of the child’. It is thus necessary that the definition of the term ‘child’ be
brought in conformity with the CRC, viz. “below 18 years of age”, by establishing one
standard ‘age of majority’.69

IPC Criminal law nothing is crime if committed by any one less than 7 years of
age; or a child above 7 years and below 12 years if he/she has
not attained sufficient maturity to judge nature and
consequence of his/her conduct
Juvenile Law covers a boy less than 16 years of age and a girl less than 18
years
Family Law (Child 21 years for boys and 18 years for girls
marriage Restraint
Act)
Labour Laws For apprenticeship must be less than 14 years
Factory Law Not less than 14 years
Mines Act Not less than 18 years
Child Labour Less than 14 years
Prohibition and
Regulation Act

5. Birth Registration

The registration of births and deaths in India has been made compulsory under the
Registration of Births & Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969. At national level, however, only about
56 per cent of the births are being covered by the registration machinery. In absolute
numbers, of approximately 26 million births taking place each year, close to 12 million
births are not registered. Only 19% of children less than five years of age possess a birth

53
certificate. Birth registration is comparatively lower in rural areas as compared to urban
areas and there are large interstate variations.70

Apart from being the first legal acknowledgement of a child's existence and thereby
participation, an evidence that they are still a child, registration of births is fundamental
to the realization of a number of their rights. “Without birth registration, children are
invisible in official statistics.” As quoted in ‘The State of the World’s Children 2006’.

In India, birth registration is an area where there are significant differences between
states, ranging from only 2 per cent of births being registered in Bihar to 95 per cent in
Goa. With such diversity throughout the country, it is important for reliable
disaggregated information to be available and used at all levels. While monitoring
progress towards the national targets is important, data should also be generated and
analysed at local levels to ensure that services reach the most disadvantaged.

6. Illiteracy

Literacy is the key for socio-economic progress, and the Indian literacy rate grew to 66%
in 2007 from 12% at the end of British rule in 1947. Although this was a greater than
fivefold improvement, the level is well below the world average literacy rate of 84%, and
India currently has the largest illiterate population of any nation on earth. The 2001
census, however, indicated a 1991-2001 decadal literacy growth of 12.63%, which is the
fastest-ever on record.

There is a wide gender disparity in the literacy rate in India: adult (15+ years), literacy
rates in 2009 were 76.9% for men and 54.5% for women. The low female literacy rate
has had a dramatically negative impact on family planning, population stabilization
efforts in India. Non literate parents tend to give less value to the education, health and
nutrition of their children and are more vulnerable to exploitation.

7. Weak Law Enforcement

Weak law enforcement fails to check the increase in the exploitation for children as
cheap and convenient labour. The enforcement of the laws against female foeticide is
poor, with a very low rate of prosecution and extremely poor conviction rate of
offenders. Lacunae and shortcomings in the existing legislations further push the child
towards “exploitation”.

8. Poor Infrastructure

Lack of adequate number of schools, lack of basic facilities such as drinking water and
toilets in schools, poor quality of schooling, teacher absenteeism, and corporal
punishment in schools, the expense of schooling, leads to the increasing exclusion of
children.
54
 9. Weak Political Action

Lack of administrative will and action has led to the “further deterioration” of the Child’s
status in India. The casual attitude and indifference to prevalent situation has been a
major reason for not addressing the needs of children adequately and timely.

10.Breakdown of Social Structures

Increasing breakdown of social structures is resulting in a loss of family and community

support networks, making families, particularly women and children, increasingly
vulnerable to traffickers’ demands and threats.

11.Violence In Media

At the same time, we cannot ignore the impact of media on children. Violence in today’s
cinema, acceptable aberrations shown in TV serials, advertisements, fashion shows,
reality TV showing crime related episodes, all of these have a negative impact on the
minds of children.

55
Chapter 5

BUDGETARY ASSESSMENTS

T
he well being of society depends largely on investments in its human resource
development, particularly children and youth. Budgetary programmes, specifically
socio-economic expenditures, directly affect the personal development and life
opportunities of children. In India, "Budget for Children” is not a separate budget. It is
an attempt to dis-aggregate from the overall budget, allocations made specifically for
programmes that benefit children such as child initiatives and schemes for health,
education, development and protection. However lots of investments have indirect
consequences on life of children, such as the building of roads or hospitals, even if they
don’t address specifically to children. Consequently it is difficult to have an accurate
image of what is exactly allocated for children.

Share of Children Budget 2010-2011 Sectoral alocation within union budget

2010-2011

union budget
Education
budget for Development
children Health
Protection

Source (figures and table): Expenditure Budget Volume II, 2008-2009 & 2009-2010

Sectoral allocation within union budget for children as percentage

Sectors within budget for children 2009-2010 2010-2011 2010-2011
(in %) (in %) (in Rs. -
crores)
Share of health sector 0.46 0.49 3301.03
Share of development sector 0.69 0.90 5489.44
Share of education sector 3.03 3.20 23863
Share of protection sector 0.02 0.04 304.86
Share of Children in union budget 4.21 4.63 32958.33
Total union budget 100 100 680520.51

56
The children’s share in 2010-2011 is only slightly higher than 4.21 per cent in 2009-10,
even as the total budget size has risen 8.61 per cent to a record Rs. 11 lakh crore. As a
proportion of Gross Domestic Product, these investments are particularly low (even lower
than what children have received in 2008-2009 or even previous to this) and not
commensurate with the overall increase in national productivity and income. India today
is the 10th highest GDP country in the world. It has improved from 7.5% in 2004-05, to
9% in 2005-06, to 9.2% in 2006-2007.71

IDENTIFIED PROBLEMS IN BUDGETING

Reflecting a decadal trend, education gets the largest share of the budget, while
protection gets the lowest. Some of the problems relating to child budgeting that have
been identified over the years include:

a) Gaps in budget estimates and expenditure: The gap between the funds
allocated and the funds actually released on the ground is never
sharper in any other area than in the case of child-focused schemes in
education, health, protection and development;
b) Problems in flow of funds from the centre to the state;
c) Inability of states to meet the matching grant requirement from the state
in the case of centrally sponsored schemes;
d) Inadequacy of mechanisms to check misappropriation and misuse of
funds;
e) Dependence on external aid;
f) Flaws in the very planning of various ministries and departments itself;
and most importantly;
g) Lack of meaningful communication and coordination between the Planning
Commission, the Finance Ministry and the ministries/departments at the
stage of formulation of the five-year plan, mid-term review and final
evaluation of the plan period.

The NPAC 2005 has articulated the rights perspective and agenda for the development of
children, and provides a robust framework within which to promote the development and
protection of children. It is therefore logical and imperative that the NPAC 2005, the
basis for planning for children in the Eleventh Plan in all sectors and the principles
articulated in it guide the planning and investments for children.

With the state governments having a major share of the responsibility for
implementation of social sector schemes, declining flows of funds from the centre to the
states is a serious challenge and may adversely affect the provisioning of social services
in states. To address this significant set of financial constraints, effective policy action is
required, either in the form of increased transfers from the centre, and/or greater
pressure on states to prioritize their expenditures in line with policy commitments to the
social sectors and to children.

Child budgeting must begin at the very level of panchayats, the very basic unit of
democratic functioning. This will logically result in decentralized monitoring through

57
analysis of allocation and spending against the plans and against implementation of the
programmes and schemes within the jurisdiction of the panchayats.

Improved targeting of districts having high incidence of infant mortality, child mortality,
maternal mortality, low literacy, high dropouts from school, high malnutrition and
anemia rates, high rate of violence or crimes against children, high incidence of child
sexual abuse, source areas for child trafficking etc., are also important measures that
can improve outcomes.

It is also important to assess the role of various programmes run by different ministries
and large scale national international organizations in order to ensure careful planning
and budgeting for improved outreach of services and for avoiding duplication of efforts.
Under-investment in education, health, development and protection contribute to widen
income gaps and social inequalities, both of which impede national efforts to meet
important development targets and to build a protective environment for children.

The budget for children must be looked at within the framework of the overall economic
scenario. The budget measures will lead to an all-round price rise, adding to the inflation
ruling at over 7 per cent now. Worse, it has no concrete measure to counter the
seriously high food inflation, at 20 per cent, which has severe implications for the
nutrition of small children and new and would-be mothers.72 Children growing up hungry
and malnourished suffer from a deficit childhood that no amount of prosperity in later life
can fill.

Even the future seems under a cloud. Out of every rupee spent in the budget, 29 paise is
coming from borrowing even as 19 paise is being spent on interest payment. Thus, even
as growth has shrunk, the fiscal deficit, or the total new borrowing of the government
has dipped only a little, from 6.8 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product in 2009-10 to
5.5 per cent in 2010-11. This is very high debt, described by economists as “a
generational burden”, and this hangs heavy on India’s children who will keep paying the
cumulative interest burden and bear the price pressure.73

To echo the finance minister, “The Union Budget cannot be a mere statement of
Government accounts. It has to reflect the Government's vision and signal the policies to
come in future.” More importantly, the “government concentrates on supporting and
delivering services to the disadvantaged sections of the society”. Yet, this budget falls
short of applying this principle to children.

58
Chapter 6

STAKEHOLDERS: ROLE AND SIGNIFICANCE

A. ROLE OF VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS IN INDIAN CONTEXT

1. As the Government

 Amend existing laws and enact new laws to have a uniform definition of CHILD (in
the context of age).
 Create infrastructure and train the required human resources to implement
national and international commitments mainly the NPAC - 2005 of the
Government of India and the UNCRC.
 To make adequate budgetary provisions to fulfil its commitment to children.
 To disseminate information about child rights to all the stakeholders by using the
government machinery.

2. As the Civil Society

 Make the government accountable to fulfil constitutional and legislative directives

and national and international commitments.
 Advocate for satisfactory implementation of child rights.
 Support the government to implement the national and state schemes for
children.
 Monitor implementation of the national and state plans of action for children.
 Demand adequate budget provision to implement schemes related to children.
 Ensure that children’s issues are included in election manifestoes.
 Motivate people to improve the status of children by undertaking various activities
in any area of their choice i.e. child labour, child health, child education and so on.

3. As the Parents

 Respect children as human beings.

 Understand children’s development pattern.
 Be open to learn from children.
 Give them space and freedom of expression.
 Treat them as partners.

59
4. As Academic Institutions

 Apart from parents, teachers spend more time with children and hence have a
significant role to play in promoting child rights.
 Academicians are also expected to provide leadership to students in research and
other curricular and co-curricular activities. They can play a significant role by
enabling the teachers and teacher educators at all the levels to have conceptual
clarity about child rights so that they can further the cause of children.
 Integrate child rights in the curricula of schools and colleges.
 Plan and organise activities in schools and colleges to create awareness and
promote child rights.
 Support NGOs to design conceptually sound and realistic programmes.
 Undertake research to collect evidence and suggest amendments to policies.

5. As NGOs, CBOs, VOs

 Sensitise key stakeholders i.e. parents, teachers, community leaders, medical

practitioners, law enforcement officers, judiciary and children about child
rights.
 Enhance capacity of selected stakeholders including the representatives of the
government and non-government organisations about issues concerning child
rights.
 Support the government to implement the schemes related to children.
 Provide essential linkages between policies and programmes.
 Organise activities related to child rights at grass root level.
 Form and activate the networks to advocate for amendment of laws or for
taking necessary action on a particular issue.
 To work as pressure groups to monitor the implementation of policies,
programmes and schemes to actualise child rights.

6. As Media

 Media can create mass awareness about significant issues pertaining to child
rights such as compulsory registration of birth, providing health care, reducing
malnutrition and exploitation and abuse of children through publishing articles,
special features, interviews, case studies in print media.
 Airing radio jingles, songs, series of programmes on issues related to children.
 Telecasting spots, special features, serials to project child rights.
 Producing films, documentaries, feature films on children’s issues.
 Curbing misuse of children in advertisements on TV and films.
 Creating public opinion to prevent violence against children and value the girl
child.

7. As Law Enforcement Officers and Judiciary

60
  Sensitise police personnel at different levels, personnel of juvenile homes and
lawyers about child rights.
 Orient the above-mentioned personnel to treat children with respect and
compassion.
 Probe the reasons for children’s misdeeds rather than apply punitive measures.
 Try to be friends of children rather than inhibit them with adults’ muscle power or
knowledge.

8. As Medical and Para-medical Professionals

 To be familiar with the PC & PNDT Act (Preconception and Prenatal Diagnostic Test
Act) 2003 and the MTP Act (Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act), 1971 and
spread awareness about the same to the communities.
 To contribute to the strict implementation of the PC & PNDT Act and the MTP Act.
 To spread awareness in the community about the pre-natal and post-natal care of
the mother and the newborn child.
 To assist the government machinery in maintaining birth and death records.

9. As Corporate Sector

 Orient the employees on child rights from time to time.

 Adopt child friendly approach while planning their products and designing the
advertisements.
 Provide crèches for employees’ young children.
 Introduce progressive trends such as paternity leave.

B. SIGNIFICANCE OF STAKEHOLDERS IN PRESENT SCENARIO

1. At Central Government Level

a) Ministry for Women and Child Development

The Department of Women and Child Development was set up in the year 1985 as a part
of the Ministry of Human Resource Development and then as part of the Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment. From January 2006, the department has been
upgraded to a ministry. Link: http://wcd.nic.in/moswcd.htm)

The mandate of the ministry is to promote holistic development of women and children.
It formulates, monitors and supervises plans, policies and programmes; enacts/ amends
legislation, guides and coordinates the efforts of both governmental and non-
governmental organisations working in the field of women and child development.

Most of the programmes of the ministry are run through non-governmental

organisations. The major policy initiatives undertaken by the ministry in the recent past
include universalisation of the world’s largest outreach programme titled “Integrated

61
Child Development Services” (ICDS), launching of a nutrition programme for adolescent
girls, establishment of the Commission for protection of Child Rights.

b) National Human Rights Commission

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is an independent and autonomous

statutory body established in 2000 under the Human Rights Commission Act 1997. It has
a separate sphere of responsibilities in the constitutional legal system of the country.
These responsibilities complement the responsibilities of the normal machinery of the
administration of justice: the Supreme Court, the Office of the Attorney General, the
Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, and other existing executive,
quasi-judicial or judicial bodies performing in the legal system of India.

The Commission was created in response to 1991 UN-sponsored meeting of

representatives of national institutions held in Paris, which laid down a detailed set of
principles on the status of national institutions commonly known as the Paris Principles.
http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/parisprinciples.htm.

c) National Commission for Protection of the Child Rights

The National Commission for Protection of the Child Rights Act 2005 envisaged setting up
a National Commission at the national level and state commissions at the state level.
This statutory body for protection of child rights was constituted in 2007. It aims to
favour effective enforcement of children’s rights and proper implementation of laws and
programmes relating to children.

Mandate:

 to spread child rights literacy among various sections of the society and promote
awareness.

 to examine all factors that inhibit the enjoyment of rights of most vulnerable
children and children in need of special care and protection.

 to undertake periodical review of existing policies, programmes and other

activities on child.

 to undertake and promote research in the field of child rights.

 to examine and review the safeguards provided by treaties and other international
instruments and by the Indian Constitution or any national law for the protection
of child rights and recommend measures for their effective implementation.

2. Significance of Media in Indian Society

There are both positives and negatives of one single given notion. The media, known as
the fourth pillar of democracy, has a huge impact on the society. The effects are of
62
course, positive as well as negative. Media is such a powerful tool that it literally governs
the direction of our society today. It is the propeller as well as the direction provider of
the society. Opinions can change overnight and celebrities can become infamous with
just one wave by the media.

The vision of media reaches even the remotest corners of the country and makes sure
that everyone is aware of what is going on in the country. The easy and swift availability
of any given information makes media one of the most reliable sources for forming public
opinion. It bridges the gap between the leaders and the masses by becoming their
channel of communication.

It brings into open the innumerable achievements that are going on in the country.
Media gives ordinary people the power to reach out to the society as a whole. The media
acts as a deterrent on corrupt practices and keeps a check on the working of the
government. Media has significantly promoted social causes like literacy, health
management, anti-dowry practices, discouraging female feticide, AIDS awareness, etc.

Media can adversely affect the thinking capability of individuals and instil negative or
destructive thinking patterns in the society as a whole. As already said before, media has
the power to form and alter opinions. This means media can portray an ordinary thing so
negatively that it may force people to think or act in quite the opposite way. Media
glorifies violence and contains graphic descriptions or images. When viewed by the
vulnerable portion of the society, i.e., the children, it can have grave effects on their
upcoming and thinking patterns.

3. Significance of NGOs in Indian Society

In India, unfortunately the public policy making process essentially excludes the ‘public’
and is carried out by politicians in power with the assistance of elite bureaucrats. The
NGO sector’s extensive grassroot connection and involvement in various social service
provisions make it a potential ally for the governments in reforming out-dated public
policies. The NGO sector including the international organisations, representing various
classes of people and interests, plays a surrogate role by engaging in public policy
making.

Some of the other field-based development expertise, the ability and flexibility to
innovate and adapt; process-oriented approach to development; participatory
methodologies and tools; long-term commitment and emphasis on sustainability;

While it is hard to predict the total number of NGOs operating in the country due to the
lack of systematic records, according to estimates there are between 1.2 million – 1.5
million NGOs operating currently. A great majority of the NGOs are small and about
three-fourths of all NGOs are run entirely by volunteers or a few part time employees.

In spite of the limitations in their size and resources, NGOs provide convincing examples
of the power of the sector’s action in child related issues and social change.

63
Indian NGO sector’s major weaknesses include limited financial and management
expertise; limited institutional capacity; low levels of self-sustainability; small scale
interventions; lack of understanding of the broader social or economic context; Lack of
inter-organizational communication and/or coordination/ operating in isolation leads to
duplication of interventions in some areas neglecting others and no centralized
mechanism to understand the extent of efforts.

NGOs need to shift from protest to pro-action, building citizen democracy, forming
alliances across social movements, distinguishing between activist and service provider
NGOs.

India has a vibrant and fast growing NGO sector, but unfortunately its role in the society,
issues and solutions are little understood by the country’s social scientists due to lack of
awareness, interest, and research.

It is paramount that in the upcoming years, social scientists would get involved in
extensive research on all aspects of the NGO sector – especially on management
practices, network governance, NGO-government linkages and the sector’s role in the
public policy making process.

64
Chapter 7

CONCLUSION AND THE WAY FORWARD

I
ndia is increasingly recognized as a global power in key economic sectors. There
have also been positive trends on certain social indicators, particularly those that
respond to vertical, campaign-like approaches: the near eradication of polio a
significant increase in literacy rates and the enrolment of both boys and girls in
primary school. However, progress has been slow in areas requiring systemic changes,
such as in the provision of good quality services (i.e. primary health care, education
and community-based nutrition services).

There has also been limited change in the practice of key behaviours related to child
well-being, such as hand washing and exclusive breastfeeding. The HIV/AIDS epidemic
continues to spread and poses a significant threat. Issues related to child protection,
including trafficking and child labour, are becoming more pronounced. Repeated and
extensive emergencies such as the tsunami, flooding and earthquakes have also
adversely affected the lives of children in India. This uneven development path has
been further exacerbated by striking and persistent inequities by gender, caste and
geography. Children being our supreme asset, nothing concerning their
survival , development, protection and participation should be ignored or
sidelined. However, in a country with a large number of floating population, vast
disparities, social conflict and turmoil, the challenge to attend to all their rights is
even greater.

The government of India has adopted ambitious targets related to children that are in
line with, the MDGS and fulfilment of rights of children. Centrally-sponsored schemes
have increased public resources to key sectors, notably the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in
education (the national policy to universalize primary education), the Reproductive and
Child Health Programme II, the National Rural Health Mission, the Integrated Child
Development Services and the Integrated Child Protection Scheme.

The foregoing chapters reveal that ever since India achieved independence, the
executive, the L egislature and the J udiciary in India have taken several proactive
measures to put in place an exhaustive legal and policy framework for safeguarding the
rights of children so as to ensure their survival, development, protection and
participation. A p l e t h o r a o f plans, schemes and programmes have been initiated to
address issues concerning children. The challenge remains to convert these
commitments and resources into measurable results for all children, especially those
belonging to socially disadvantaged and marginalized communities.

65
The Judiciary along with the police and various government agencies, autonomous
bodies, public enterprises, PRIs and national and international organizations are involved
in the execution of schemes and programmes at different levels and different corners of
the country. The need of the hour for all of them is to ensure that the interventions being
made by them are being implemented in the field in the ‘right’ perspective.

Most importantly, there is a need to increase the budgetary allocations and also ensure
that the budget is invested in the activities it has been allocated for as there has always
been huge gap between the budget estimates and the actual expenditures.

A critical analysis of the implementation of various child related programmes reveal

that although significant achievements have been made in improving the status of
children, planning has remained a fragmented exercise. The situational assessment
has also led to the identification of t h e f o l l o w i n g general overarching gaps and
some specific which in the last 5 year plan have affected the “well being” of the
children adversely.74

a) Children are not a priority on development agenda

b) Processes of globalisation - a major factor impacting children and their

families, leading to increased marginalisation and exclusion

c) Weak and inadequate mechanisms for preventing exclusion; Exclusion

by virtue of poor birth registration and lack of data

d) Lack of resources for all programmatic areas and uneven geographical

spread in utilization of allotted resources

e) Existing schemes are inadequate in outreach and funding, resulting in

marginal coverage of destitute children and children in difficult
circumstances

f) Large gaps both in quantitative a n d qualitative data a n d absence of

data management systems

g) No mapping of the children in need of care and protection or of the

services available for them at the district/city/state level

h) Inadequate enforcement and implementation of existing laws and conventions

i) Difficulty to prioritize the issues with a set of achievable goals and objectives

j) Weaknesses in the co-ordination among government agencies as well as

with civil society organisations

k) Lack of convergence of programs/services. Lateral linkages with even

the essential services for children for example education, health, police,
judiciary, services for the disabled, etc. are missing

l) Lack of inter-sectoral coordination mechanisms at the state, district

66
 and block level for periodic review and monitoring, particularly of
convergence

m) Lack of appreciation of the need for a coordinated approach amongst

those responsible for service delivery

n) Lack of coordination at the policy formulation level and at the initial

stages of project planning

o) Inability of Gram Panchayats ( loca l rura l a uth or it ies) to coordinate

and bring about convergence of services at the village level due to lack
of their participation in local planning and absence of adequate powers

p) Bureaucratic hurdles affecting efficiency at all levels

q) Lack of monitoring and follow up systems at all levels

r) Understaffing and inadequate training of social department units at all

levels, ranging from central to decentralized levels

s) Problems related to modernization, such as individualism and

consumerism, and destruction of traditional values, such as solidarity and
respect for plurality

t) A large percentage of children in need of care and protection are

outside the safety net and have no support and access to services

With rapid growth of economic sector in the country it is essential that social sector is
also given due importance in the present scenario. Creating general awareness and
advocacy through mass communication system is the need of the hour. The burning
issues like infanticide, foeticide, child marriage, violence against women and children and
others need to be addressed through multimedia campaigns to target the community
and society as a whole.

The attitude of the society at large, the parents, educational institutions, the community
and the government at large also has to shift from the needs’ perspective to the rights’
perspective.

Childreach International India aims to work with the rights-based approach thereby
addressing the root causes of rights violations. Childreach International India would
support grassroot initiatives working to achieve the child’s right to survival and
development with the approach that will empower the children to participate in their
protection.

Childreach International India’s ideology is based on a “Child’s right to Participation”. It

recognizes the potential of children to enrich decision-making processes, to share
perspectives and to participate as citizens and actors of change. The right to participate
is relevant to the exercise of all other rights of children, within the family, the school and
the community at large.

67
The organization would empower its children with tools, skills and a platform to act as
ambassadors of child rights and fight for it. Childreach International India firmly believes
in stimulating children in every corner of its country so that one day these rights get
exercised! If our children learn to raise voices for their rights and get united, they are
unshakable and invincible! And perhaps this is one answer to all the issues concerning
child rights.

India is a country of contrasts and great complexity. Even within states there are marked
differences. Female literacy rates in Maharashtra, for example, range from 83 percent in
the district of Mumbai to 46 percent in Nandurbar. Similarly, while the average child sex
ratio for Maharashtra is 917 females per 1,000 males, it ranges widely between districts:
from 974 in the district of Gadchiroli to 850 in Sangli.

While India boasts of state-of-the-art hospitals offering some of the best medical care in
the world, there are communities in the same cities which are deprived of health care
because of numerous reasons.

Childreach International India does not plan to limit its reach to selected states. Factors
such as the magnitude and need of the target population, the uniqueness of the project,
project’s potential of sustainability, similarity with Childreach International India’s
ideology, would dominate the selection of the projects.

68
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72